VAN RICHTEN’S GUIDE TO RAVENLOFT

VAN RICHTEN’S HERBALIST SHOP
IN MORDENTSHIRE

Godefroy’s Powers and Dominion

Lord Wilfred Godefroy rules his own personal afterlife. His statistics are similar to those of a ghost, and he is one of the most powerful spectral Undead in
the domain. From the House on Gryphon Hill, Godefroy forces throngs of the dead to serve his will and to seek out a path to their true, nal deaths.

Lord of the Dead. After 24 hours, the spirit of anyone who dies in Mordent reappears as a ghost, a specter, or another incorporeal Undead near where they
died. These spectral dead can be magically returned to life as normal, but those who aren’t restored to life linger as Undead until they’re destroyed or the
Mists claim them. Spectral agents of Lord Godefroy remain alert for useful souls that might be enlisted into the Darklord’s service.

Gryphon Hill. The House on Gryphon Hill, just outside Mordentshire, is home of Lord Wilfred Godefroy. Hundreds of spirits are bound to the house and the
surrounding grounds, and all serve the lord of the house and struggle to keep in his good graces. Those spirits who rebel are punished, either forced to
face Godefroy’s kennel of spectral hounds or dragged to the deepest recesses of the house, which even the eldest spirits fear. Any spirits capable of
possessing the living are permitted to do so only when Lord Godefroy commands it. The Darklord rarely allows the dead to experience life like this, and
when he does, it’s to possess those who can work his will elsewhere in the domain or to expand the eclectic structure that is the House on Gryphon Hill.

The Apparatus. Lord Godefroy has not given up hope that the bizarre device called the Apparatus might allow him to escape his torment and reach a more
peaceful afterlife. Godefroy’s servants have spent centuries abducting magical geniuses, possessing them and convincing them to recreate the Apparatus
again and again, often with unpredictable or catastrophic results. The magical device has caused all manner of inexplicable teleportations, mergings of
living beings, duplications of souls, and strange manipulations of the Mists. At any time, Godefroy’s servants are working to perfect the Apparatus
somewhere in Mordent.
The Living and the Dead. Lord Godefroy eagerly seeks news of anyone with the ability to exorcise spirits, learn secrets from those long dead, or slip
beyond the boundaries of the Mists. His most useful contact in learning news and keeping tabs on the living is Alice Weathermay, mayor of Mordentshire.
Godefroy manipulates her to pass on information and do his bidding by holding the spirit of her dead husband, Daniel Foxgrove, hostage.
Closing the Borders. When Godefroy wishes to close his domain, fog rolls in off the sea and blankets the land. Everything in the domain that’s outdoors is
heavily obscured by the fog (see the Player’s Handbook). Characters who reach the domain’s borders through this fog are affected as detailed in “The
Mists” at the start of this chapter.

Godefroy’s Torment

Lord Godefroy is an abyss of grief and rage, tormented by the following circumstances:
Godefroy is concerned only with his own misery; the suffering of the other spirits in Mordent merely fuels his torment.
Exceptionally arrogant, Godefroy brooks no opinions or criticisms from his inferiors, and blames every failure on his spirit servants.
Godefroy’s family still haunts the House on Gryphon Hill. Although he wishes for their love, he avoids the oor of the house where they dwell,
resenting their rightful condemnation.
Godefroy is convinced the Apparatus is the key to escaping his undead existence. However, he can’t grasp even its basic workings and is frustrated by
every delay and malfunction related to the device.

Roleplaying Godefroy

The thinnest veneer of gentility covers Lord Godefroy’s boundless rage. Arrogant, impatient, and quick to offer mockery, the Darklord seeks any
opportunity to vent centuries of frustration. He eagerly uses threats and violence to manipulate the living and the dead, eagerly taking advantage of any
connection he perceives—especially ties to family.
Personality Trait. “I have no patience for insult, disrespect, or provocation, and I respond with violence to any affront.”
Ideal. “My perspective and concerns are the only ones that matter.”
Bond. “Gryphon Hill is my ancestral home. I am deeply bound to that site, its history, and my ancestral line.”
Flaw. “I’m surrounded by idiots, and few people are more insufferable than the living.”

Adventures in Mordent

Mordent is the realm of the classic ghost story. In tone and trappings, the domain resembles the countrysides of Gothic literature: lands dotted with
haunted manor houses, stalked by packs of ghost hounds, and troubled by the spirits of dead warlocks that cause trees to rot from the inside out.
Any kind of ghost story adventure (as described in chapter 2) ts in Mordent. This domain is particularly appropriate for stories that deal with the lingering
in uence of the past, the oppressive weight of tradition, and the ongoing effects of generational curses. The restless spirits enforce an archaic and

repressive social order where everyone knows their place, and those who step out of line are punished—sometimes gruesomely.
Consider the plots on the Mordent Adventures table when planning adventures in this domain.
Mordent Adventures

d8 Adventure

1 An alchemist discovers a way to “burn” spirits to provide fuel for magical re. Several spirits seek the party’s aid in preventing their second death.
2 A noble seeks help as an undead ancestor tries to prevent the noble’s marriage to an “unsuitable” partner.
3 The spirits of two lovers whose families prevented their union begin exacting revenge on the living.
4 A pair of rival ends, Athos and Diche, break loose from idols in the collection at Heather House. Members of the Weathermay family call for aid.

The citizens of the village of Crawford spread tales of a gigantic raven. Sheriff Perkins hires the characters to hunt down the creature, which is
5

actually a wereraven (see chapter 5) protecting the community from a greater threat.
A curse has a icted Westcote Manor for a hundred years. The surrounding bog encroaches on the house, and howling bog hounds draw ever closer
6
to the estate’s beleaguered lord.
The baronet of a small estate is forced to commit increasingly heinous crimes each day or face unspeakable torment at the hands of his ghostly
7
ancestors, who suffered under the same curse.
8 Someone has rebuilt the infamous Apparatus and is using it to transpose vicious souls into the bodies of mild-mannered citizens of Mordentshire.

Haunting Mordent

Crafting an adventure around a haunting is similar to building any other adventure. The “Ghost Stories” section of chapter 2 provides a good starting point
for detailing elements of a ghost story. This section supplements that material with advice speci c to building an adventure reminiscent of a classic ghost
story, focusing on three key elements of such tales: history, tragedy, and romance. Throughout this section, consider the word ghost synonymous with any
sort of spirit or incorporeal Undead.

History

Because elements of a ghost’s mortal life de ne and foreshadow the course of their death and undeath, a common aspect of a ghost-story adventure
involves piecing together the history of the ghost’s life to gure out how to put the spirit to rest. This gives any ghost story characteristics similar to a
mystery. Be generous in planting clues to the ghost’s history throughout the adventure, assuming that the players will miss several of them. You can use
the Ghost’s History table to determine how long the ghost has been Undead.
Ghost’s History

d6 Ghost’s History

1 The ghost died so recently that they might not yet fully realize they are dead.
2 The ghost died recently enough that people who knew them in life are still around.
3 The ghost died years ago, and few people who knew them in life are still alive.
4 The ghost died a generation ago; folks remember rumors or stories told about the person’s life.
5 The ghost died multiple generations ago, and only local folklore or histories preserve their memory.
6 The ghost died a very long time ago, and no one knows anything about their history.

Tragedy

Ghosts embody the pain and grief that surround death. To build an effective ghost story adventure, present either the ghost or those they haunt as the
tragic victims of painful circumstance. The Tragic Elements table offers suggestions, framing each as a tragic element for either the ghost or their victims.
Tragic Elements

d10 Tragic Element

1 The ghost aches from a broken heart.
2 The ghost interferes with the romantic life of their victim.
3 The ghost was falsely accused and convicted of a crime.
4 The ghost makes an innocent person appear to be guilty of the ghost’s crimes.
5 In life, the ghost was cut off by family members and denied a rightful inheritance.
6 The ghost refuses to acknowledge any living heirs as family members and tries to prevent these heirs from inheriting what is rightly theirs.
7 Society shunned the ghost unfairly in life.
8 Association with the ghost causes their living victim to be shunned by society.
9 In life, the ghost’s efforts to do good led them to be cursed by a hag, end, or powerful spirit.
10 The ghost foils their victim’s efforts to do good.

Romance

Issues of love and romance are intimately bound to the tragic elements of a ghost story, or can supplement those elements to make the ghost
sympathetic. The Romantic Elements table offers suggestions.
Romantic Elements

d8 Romantic Element

1 The ghost hopes to be reunited with another ghost—the spirit of someone they loved in life.
2 The ghost haunts someone they loved in life, who still returns that love.
3 The ghost haunts a place they loved in life, perhaps their home or a memorial to one they lost.
4 The ghost haunts someone they loved in life, who is trying to move on.
5 The ghost haunts someone who looks like a person the ghost loved in life (possibly a descendant of that person).
6 A person who loved the ghost in life refuses to let the spirit leave.
7 The ghost was murdered by someone they loved in life.
8 The ghost seeks vengeance on someone who spurned them in life.

ALL WHO DIE IN MORDENT BECOME CAPTIVES TO THE WILL OF LORD WILFRED GODEFROY

Putting the Pieces Together

Once you’ve thought about the roles of history, tragedy, and romance, you might already have a clear idea of where you want to go with your ghost-story
adventure. If you need inspiration to put the pieces together, consider these questions.
Who’s the villain? A D&D adventure often revolves around the activity of a villain, but the villain in a ghost story might or might not be the ghost themself. If
you’ve built a tragic ghost who’s deeply in love with the person they’re haunting, the villain might be someone else entirely—someone obsessed with the
haunted person, perhaps, who goes to great lengths to keep the ghost away.
What’s the beginning of the story? While a ghost’s history frames how the story plays out, the adventure doesn’t begin until a group of adventurers
becomes involved and entangled in the ghost’s undeath. At the beginning of the adventure, let the players know about an eerie occurrence and give them a
reason to care about it. The party might encounter the ghost right away, but even if destroyed, the ghost keeps returning until their business is resolved.
What resources are available to the characters? The bulk of a ghost-story adventure involves learning about the ghost and their haunting while continuing
to deal with escalating supernatural manifestations. Characters might interview locals; read letters, diaries, or historical records; or examine objects found
at the haunted site to piece together the information they need to put the ghost to rest.
How does it end? In Mordent, the spirits of the dead don’t naturally pass on to a nal rest, but characters can prevent the restless dead from interfering
any further in the affairs of the living. That often involves completing whatever business a ghost left un nished, resolving the ghost’s attachment to
something or someone in the living world, or nding a way to destroy the ghost so they can’t return, which is usually a matter of exploiting their
attachment to people or a location.

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MORDENT TEPEST

Richemulot

MAP 3.12: RICHEMULOT
VIEW PLAYER VERSION

Domain of Disease, Isolation, and Wererats
Darklord: Jacqueline Renier
Genres: Disaster horror and gothic horror
Hallmarks: Contagion, crumbling infrastructure, martial law, rats and vermin, wererats
Mist Talismans: Plague mask, rat’s tail, snake-oil curative
Like a pendulum, Richemulot swings perpetually between hope and despair. Some days, the sun rises over Pont-a-Museau as if it were an ordinary city,
and not one in which many of the buildings stand empty and abandoned. On those days, people move freely through the open gates, and the silent, heavily
armored guards of the Casques Silencieux watch over calm promenades and markets. But a day or a week or a month later, the rst telltale cough cracks

amid the crowd. As people evacuate the streets and lock their doors, rats crawl from the sewers in tremendous numbers. Shortly thereafter, the gates
slam shut. No doctors come, and no information arrives; the populace is left to die.
The Gnawing Plague stalks Richemulot, arriving without warning. It comes with the rats, but it doesn’t leave with them. For weeks or months at a time, life
becomes an interminable wait as people peer out from between slatted windows and wonder how long the plague will last this time. Inevitably, frustration
and fear beget superstition and violence.
Eventually the gates open, signaling that the city is safe again. How the Casques Silencieux know is a mystery, but their judgment always proves correct.
And so the cycle goes, from ruin to relief and back again, with de facto ruler Mademoiselle Jacqueline Renier ever above it all, tirelessly working to pull her
realm back from the brink of total collapse.

Noteworthy Features

Those familiar with Richemulot know the following facts:
The Gnawing Plague, or simply “the Gnaws,” is a deadly, recurring ailment that a icts Richemulot.
Richemulot’s royal family died of the plague. Mademoiselle Jacqueline Renier, the nation’s most prestigious aristocrat, rules as temporary warden.
When the plague swells to epidemic proportions, the state police, the Casques Silencieux, enacts martial law and quarantines whole cities.
The government organizes no food or medical aid for quarantined communities, leaving residents to contend as best they can.
Richemulot’s cities contain an inexplicably large number of buildings, an amount greater than their highest populations would have ever warranted.
Rat swarms prowl city streets like packs of dogs.

Settlements and Sites

The majority of Richemulot’s population is divided between its three walled cities, Mortigny, Pont-a-Museau, and Saint Ronges, though villages and
isolated farmsteads dot the swampy countryside.

Pont-a-Museau

The capital of Richemulot, Pont-a-Museau straddles the Musarde River, its buildings dominating both banks and the islands and bridges between. The
city’s abundant space could easily house twenty thousand souls, but although it’s Richemulot’s most populous city, fewer than half that number live here.
Still, Pont-a-Museau’s casual sophistication hints at a cosmopolitan past. Indeed, the sprawling, foreign architecture gives rise to one of Richemulot’s
most widespread folk tales—that the people living here now aren’t the land’s rst inhabitants.
The citizens of Pont-a-Museau share their city with rats. These vermin are a ubiquitous presence, and visitors become accustomed to the ash of sudden
movement at the periphery of their vision. Some say they are Jacqueline Renier’s spies. This rumor might contain truth, as many who whisper it vanish in
the night and are never seen again.

Chateau Delanuit. Upon an island in the center of the Musarde sits Chateau Delanuit, the hereditary Renier estate. From here, Jacqueline Renier rules
Richemulot. She holds audience from her parlors and public courtrooms, but her private residence is sacrosanct, and few outside her family ever visit it.

Unknown to all but the Renier family and their staunchest allies, Chateau Delanuit stands above the inscrutable Inverted Court, a downward-spilling palace
that connects to the vast sewer system of Pont-a-Museau and beyond. This is the epicenter of Richemulot’s polity, the clandestine home of its wererat
families, and the true capital of the domain.

Saint Ronges

Though Saint Ronges shares the same mysterious origin as the rest of Richemulot’s cities, the cause of its depopulation is well known: the Plague strikes
harder here, and for longer, than anywhere else in the domain.

This was not always so. When Jacqueline Renier rst ascended to the throne and imposed her law upon the land, the people of Saint Ronges resisted her
rule. Renier granted the city its freedom, absent the support and infrastructure of the state. To this day that remains the case, though the dwindling
People’s Council of Saint Ronges has long since learned its lesson. The council has repeatedly petitioned Mademoiselle Renier for mercy. For now, she is
still considering.

Mortigny

Mortigny is both the smallest of Richemulot’s three cities and the most overcrowded; its streets are congested and its buildings strained to capacity. The
town resembles an extended tenement, with new construction built atop old and hastily thrown together shanties lining the inside of its walls.

Mortigny is quickly quarantined during surges of plague, but anyone is allowed to enter the city so long as they do so with the understanding that they
can’t leave. Small communities across the domain send their sick to Mortigny, both to be rid of them and because the city has Richemulot’s largest
concentration of medical practitioners. The best of these healers work at Mortigny West Clinic under Doctor Simone Temator. Doctors across the city ght
tirelessly to aid the sick and research new treatments for the Gnaws, but ultimately their work does little to curb the disease. Many desperate practitioners
have turned to unconventional methods to halt the plague’s spread.

Jacqueline Renier

JACQUELINE RENIER

A century ago, Richemulot was a lively place. In those days, not a building stood vacant as merchants from both ends of the Musarde set up shop along
the broad boulevards of Pont-a-Museau. As wealth trickled into the merchants’ coffers, those of low birth began to taste the bene ts of nobility.

Renier saw how the city was changing and tried to convince her family of the danger it posed. The burgeoning middle class sapped her family’s authority,
transforming them from lords over the commoners into mere landlords. But Renier’s family surrendered to the times. Her grandfather grew in rm over the
years and less able to look out for the family’s interests, and the others—even her twin sister, Louise—seemed oblivious to the threat. It fell to Jacqueline
to correct their failings.

Finding like-minded souls took Renier years, but she nally became aware of the mysterious Trueblood Council, a secret society of Richemulot’s eldest
and most esteemed families. Expending a fortune, Renier aggressively pursued membership. Finally she was granted an invitation to join the society’s
members at their meeting place hidden among the sewers of Pont-a-Museau. But when Renier arrived, she found a throng of lthy commoners, not the
dramatic masterminds she’d expected. As she cursed them and set off to fetch the guards, the council members revealed their true wererat forms. That
night, she was inducted into their ranks.

Renier swiftly accepted her new life as a wererat and her status as a member of Richemulot’s rst inhabitants. Her spite toward the lowborn turned
instead toward non-wererats. Her rst major act consisted of conferring the gift of lycanthropy upon her family. Only her twin, Louise, resisted, for which
Jacqueline dis gured her and cast her out.

Next, she bent her wererat allies to her vicious pursuit of control, unifying the country’s verminous hordes. Within the sewers of Pont-a-Museau, the
wererats concocted a roiling pestilence incubated in the lth of the bourgeoisie. Disease was not unknown in Richemulot, but the virulence of this new
Gnawing Plague sent panic through the populace. The disease killed indiscriminately, wiping out the nation’s royal dynasty and leaving power vacuums

lled and then quickly emptied by ailing nobles. Only the Reniers proved immune, and eventually Jacqueline stood as the highest-born noble in the land,
and the nation’s de facto leader.

The people begged Renier for help. Disgusted by the masses, she deemed them unworthy merely for the circumstance of their birth and the scarcity of
coins in their pockets, Renier let them die. As the last human soul expired in Pont-a-Museau, the Mists rose, drawing Richemulot into the Domains of
Dread.

Jacqueline’s Powers and Dominion

Although Jacqueline Renier has statistics similar to those of a wererat, she assumes her hybrid or rat form only when forced to defend herself or when
pushed to the brink of rage. She is rarely without guards, be they members of the Casques Silencieux, wererat bodyguards, or hidden swarms of rats.

Casques Silencieux. The Darklord’s silent state police guard Chateau Delanuit and enforce her quarantines across Richemulot. Rather than the soldiers
they appear to be, these troops are animated armor lled with rats that mindlessly and mercilessly enact Jacqueline Renier’s will. If a guard is defeated,
the armor collapses, releasing a swarm of rats.

Plague Seasons. The Inverted Court beneath Chateau Delanuit holds hidden sewer laboratories where wererat alchemists endlessly brew ever-more-
virulent strains of the Gnawing Plague and even worse maladies. Rats are then infected with these diseases to spread them across the domain. As each
strain is subtly different, creatures might fall victim to the Gnawing Plague again and again.

Rat Queen. Jacqueline Renier can understand and magically command any rat within 120 feet of her using limited telepathy. All rats in Richemulot are
especially intelligent and eagerly obey Renier’s will. This typically involves spying for her: eavesdropping on conversations, tailing individuals, and reporting
back.

Closing the Borders. When Jacqueline Renier wishes to close her domain’s borders, the Mists rise at the edge of the lands, as detailed in “The Mists” at
the start of this chapter. Additionally, the Mists are lled with swarms of rats; endless waves of them attack any creatures that enter the Mists.

Jacqueline’s Torment

As Darklord and de facto steward of Richemulot, Jacqueline Renier stands at the height of society. However, when Richemulot was claimed by the Mists,
its populace consisted mostly of commoners once more. Rather than ruling a land dominated by her wererat peers, Renier now endures various torments:

Renier has no taste for ruling, yet feels obligated to keep up appearances to maintain her power. Her decrees are rash and self-serving.
Renier’s schemes killed most of the ner aspects of Richemulot’s society. She endlessly craves the decadence she once took for granted.
The people talk of establishing a new government when the threat of the plague passes. Renier and her wererat allies must constantly create new
strains of the plague to maintain power.

Roleplaying Jacqueline

Jacqueline Renier believes she’s infallible. Proper rule by the Reniers bene ts all, and she is obviously the greatest of the Reniers. On some level, she
knows that her certainty is born of unchecked privilege and vanity. These ashes of clarity frustrate her, leading her to impose cruel edicts and public
displays of her superiority, such as city-spanning punishments and dramatic executions.

Personality Trait. “The commoners think they’re the future. I’ll show them how much they need me.”
Ideal. “Nothing is more important than the preservation of power.”
Bond. “Those who show their obedience are my true subjects. All others have a chance to prove their loyalty. Is that not mercy?”
Flaw. “I will let everything rot in the streets before I give up one bit of what I was given.”

Adventures in Richemulot

Adventurers might be accustomed to defeating foes using sword and spell, but such weapons hold little power against a nation-spanning plague. The
characters might even be able to handle maladies when they a ict one or two members of the party, but their magical resources are quickly expended in

the face of relentless contagion that’s intentionally spread. The “Cycle of the Plague” section later in this domain explores how to use an ongoing disease
as a backdrop to your adventures, while the Richemulot Adventures table suggests other plots that might unfold in the domain.
Richemulot Adventures

d6 Adventure

At the command of Jacqueline Renier, swarms of rats nightly slip into homes and murder the resident cats. Distraught pet owners entreat the
1

characters for aid.
2 A desperate rogue seeks the characters’ aid when the rest of her band is trapped within the abandoned Fiox Estate by a haywire security system.

A band of students plot a revolution against Jacqueline Renier in the valley called Assassin’s Echo. They’re convinced one among them is a traitor
3

but don’t realize there’s a wererat in their midst.
A constable requests the characters’ aid in solving murders in which the victims have been drained of blood. The murderer is a strigoi (see chapter 5)
4
that haunts a sunken chapel in the swamp known as the Gardens.
Doctor Temator of Mortigny believes she can create a cure for the Gnawing Plague and enlists the characters to nd subjects who have never had
5
the disease. Rumors soon spread that the doctor and characters are actually spreading the plague.
Louise Renier seeks the characters’ aid in in ltrating a ball Jacqueline is holding at Chateau Delanuit. She aims to infuriate Jacqueline so that she
6
reveals her wererat nature before her guests.

The Gnawing Plague

The Gnawing Plague, also known as “the Gnaws,” is known in every corner of Richemulot.
Transmission. The Gnaws is spread when a creature is bitten by a rat, giant rat, swarm of rats, or wererat that carries the disease, or by coming into
physical contact with an infected creature.
Infection. Creatures exposed to the disease must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become infected. The DC of this saving throw can
increase depending on the severity of the plague’s spread (see “Cycle of the Plague” below).
Symptoms. It takes 1d2 days for the Gnawing Plague’s symptoms to manifest in an infected creature. The infected creature then gains 1 level of
exhaustion, regains only half the normal number of hit points from spending Hit Dice, and regains no hit points from nishing a long rest.
The plague’s symptoms include buboes, fatigue, splotchy rashes, sweats, and shaking, particularly facial tremors. Locals liken these twitches to the
sni ng of rats. Sufferers often have scraps of leather placed in their mouths to prevent their teeth from clattering, though they inevitably gnaw through
these scraps.
Recovery. At the end of each long rest, an infected creature must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature gains 1 level of
exhaustion. On a successful save, the creature’s exhaustion level decreases by 1. If a successful saving throw reduces the infected creature’s level of
exhaustion below 1, the creature recovers from the disease.
Immunity. All forms of rats and wererats are immune to the Gnawing Plague.

WEARING A MASK CURTAILS THE PLAGUE BUT NOT WERERATS

Cycle of the Plague

The Gnawing Plague is an ever-present threat in Richemulot. At any given time, every community in the domain is in one of four stages of the plague.
Whenever characters nd themselves in a community, determine what stage that community is experiencing and if it’s different from the day before.

Progressing Stages

The plague’s progress begins at stage one, advances to stage four, and then either wanes back to stage one or ends when everyone in a community is
dead. Each stage can last for days or weeks, as appropriate for your adventures.

Alternatively, if you’d like to have the plague play out more randomly, roll a d20 each day. If you roll 2 or lower, the stage decreases by one. If you roll a 17
or higher, the stage increases by one. If the characters spend at least 1 hour during the day working to treat the sick, the stage decreases by one if you roll
a 4 or lower.

Let the plague’s cycle proceed for as long as your adventures demand, waxing or waning whenever it’s most dramatic. The plague will never kill everyone
in Richemulot; there will always be miraculous cures or reasons for Jacqueline Renier to withdraw her infected rat swarms. The cities then repopulate
swiftly, with new residents emerging from the Mists to little notice. This ensures that after a period of relative peace, the plague’s next wave is just as
devastating as the last.

Stage One: Threat

At its calmest, the plague isn’t obvious in the population. The plague behaves as detailed in “The Gnawing Plague” section and isn’t likely to spread unless
an in ux of the Darklord’s rats causes it to.

Stage Two: Outbreak

Coughing can be heard in the streets. Furtive looks pass between strangers, and the Casques Silencieux appear in increasing numbers. During this stage,
whenever a character goes out in public, roll or choose an encounter from the Stage Two Encounters table. If exposed to the Gnawing Plague, a character
must succeed on a Constitution saving throw to resist the disease with the DC listed in the table entry for that encounter.

Stage Two Encounters

d6 Encounter

1 The character avoids direct contact with anyone who might be infected.
How many people brush up against the character as they push through the crowds? The character must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving

2
throw or contract the Gnawing Plague.
A nearby person turns and coughs directly on the character, who must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or contract the Gnawing

3
Plague.
A rat scurries across the character’s foot. If the character isn’t wearing metal armor, it scratches them and they must succeed on a DC 12

4
Constitution saving throw or contract the Gnawing Plague.
A sobbing child is separated from their parents in a crowd. A character who physically interacts with the child must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution

5
saving throw or contract the Gnawing Plague.
A cutpurse tries to pick the character’s pocket. If the character tries to physically stop the criminal, they must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution

6
saving throw or contract the Gnawing Plague.

Stage Three: Illness

All businesses close, and the gates to walled communities are sealed. The Casques Silencieux usher anyone on the streets back into their homes. Those
without shelter congregate in alleys, where the rats grow bold. During this stage, whenever a character goes out in public, roll or choose an encounter from
the Stage Three Encounters table. If exposed to the Gnawing Plague, a character must succeed on a Constitution saving throw to resist the disease with
the DC listed in the table entry for that encounter.
Stage Three Encounters

d6 Encounter

A dead body lies in the character’s path. A character who touches the body must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or contract the
1

Gnawing Plague.
A retching commoner tries to grapple the character, begging for any help. Anyone the commoner touches must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution
2
saving throw or contract the Gnawing Plague.
3 Three Casques Silencieux (animated armor) gesture for the character to get indoors immediately. They turn hostile if the character resists.
4 Several mangy giant rats attack. Anyone bitten by a giant rat must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or contract the Gnawing Plague.
A swarm of rats shadows the character as they travel. If confronted, the swarm attacks. Anyone bitten by the rats must succeed on a DC 14
5
Constitution saving throw or contract the Gnawing Plague.
A young, well-heeled couple cavorts openly, oblivious to the quarantine. These wererats don’t reveal their true nature unless they must, and then only
6
to blend in with the swarms of rats.

Stage Four: Pestilence

The dead lie in the streets. Neighbors shun one another. Everyone hears the gnawing sounds in the dark, but no one searches out the source. During this
stage, whenever a character goes out in public, roll or choose an encounter from the Stage Four Encounters table. If exposed to the Gnawing Plague, a
character must succeed on a Constitution saving throw to resist the disease with the DC listed in the table entry for that encounter.
Stage Four Encounters

d6 Encounter
A desperate group of commoners tries to break through a sealed gate to escape quarantine. Anyone who tries to aid or deter them must succeed on a

1
DC 16 Constitution saving throw or contract the Gnawing Plague.

2 Three thieves attack someone who cries out for help. If a character intervenes, all four thieves reveal themselves to be wererats and attack.
A squad of Casques Silencieux (animated armor) marches through the street. If the Casques Silencieux spot a character, they try to force the

3
character into a home where the residents are all dead.
The character spots several rats in an alley using trash to enact a miniature courtroom drama. If a character interrupts or is critical of the rats’ play,

4
the rats become a swarm of rats and attack.
The character notices a giant rat about to throw alchemist’s re at an inhabited home. If they intervene, the rat ees. Whether or not it escapes, the

5
character’s lodgings are soon the target of arson.
A celebration takes place in a nearby house. Six wererats openly cavort in hybrid form, dancing and carousing with the corpses of the home’s former

6
owners.

©2021 D&D Beyond | All Rights Reserved | Powered by Fandom Games
Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, their respective logos, and all Wizards titles and characters are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. ©2021 Wizards.

RICHEMULOT VALACHAN

Tepest

Domain of Nature’s Cruel Secrets

Darklord: Mother Lorinda

Genre: Folk horror

Hallmarks: Fey bargains, nature worship, rural festivals, secret sacri ces

Mist Talismans: Bloodstained farm implement, dried crown of white camellias, straw doll

All is well in Tepest. Fields shine with the golden hues of a bountiful harvest, and horned village children happily recite sing-song rhymes. But those who
linger among this land’s pastures and colorful cottages can’t escape the feeling of being watched, or the impression that the idyllic elds have a distinctly
somber cast. The locals dismiss such worries as the tricks of scheming fey, but their smiles fail to mask the desperation in their eyes.

Brutality wears a welcoming face in Tepest—a truth embodied by the ancient hag Lorinda, who betrayed her coven in pursuit of a daughter to love. Taking
the guise of a deity called Mother, Lorinda has adopted the entire village of Viktal, protecting its people from nature’s whims so they can feed her accursed
offspring. Meanwhile, lingering in forests and hiding beneath the earth, resentful fey watch and plot, offering cruel bargains to those who wander beyond
Mother’s sight.

The people of Viktal, Tepest’s only remaining community, do what they must to survive, using tradition and faith to cloak their fear of the wilds and their
complicity in a cycle of murder. Strangers are symbols of hope to them—either as a promise of a life free from terror, or as potential sacri ces for the next
necessary slaughter.

Noteworthy Features

Those familiar with Tepest know the following facts:

Viktal is the only noteworthy community in Tepest. The idyllic village’s residents devoutly follow the optimistic, naturalistic faith of the god known as
Mother. Supposedly, no one born there ever wants to leave.
The frequent festivals in Viktal include a fertility celebration called the Tithe, which occurs once each season.
The most zealous of Viktal’s faithful are Mother’s Minders. These devotees sacri ce their left eyes to Mother to show their faith.
Caves dot the land, connecting to deeper caverns where dangerous fey dwell. The people of Viktal fear the fey and blame them for every accident and
ill.
Few children are born in Tepest. Determined would-be parents must bargain with Mother or the fey to bring them a child.

Settlements and Sites

The forested valley of Tepest stretches between ranges of rugged mountains etched with dramatic cliffs and mysterious vales. Rocky soil and
unpredictable weather make much of the region ill-suited to agriculture, and deadly predators, murderous goblins, and cunning fey haunt the wilds.
Despite this, the land around the community of Viktal is a haven of peace and bounty. Most people in the domain live here, though scattered
homesteaders and hermits take their chances in the wilds.

MAP 3.13: TEPEST
VIEW PLAYER VERSION

Viktal

Tales of the days before Mother arrived claim that the families of Viktal barely scraped enough from the earth to survive, and often lost livestock and
children to malicious fey. Today, Mother ensures peace in Viktal. Wicker scarecrows guard the rich elds, and friendly people go about their business with
idyllic simplicity. Families in the community share their crops and resources equally. The cheery villagers welcome visitors, showing eager interest in their
stories and lodging them free of charge at the village inn, the Fisher’s Rest. Visitors are welcome to stay for as long as they like, especially as one of the
seasonal Tithe festivals approaches.

The Gurgyl

Those who venture into the wilds on a moonlit night might see a massive shape silently lumbering through Tepest’s woods. The Gurgyl, a structure of
thorns, wicker, and giants’ bones, appears as a misshapen, towerlike nest balanced on three skeletal dragon legs. Lorinda and her daughter Laoirse dwell
inside this mobile fortress, which holds Lorinda’s kitchen-laboratory, Laoirse’s nursery-oubliette, and the Old Cauldron, a plugged pot where Lorinda’s
coven-sisters languish. The Gurgyl ranges across Tepest at Lorinda’s will and might appear anywhere. The villagers of Viktal know the Gurgyl serves their
god in some way, but sighting it portends bad luck.

Kellee

The gates to the walled village of Kellee hang open, and its crumbling houses stand empty. Lorinda rst sought to spread her worship here, but something
went terribly wrong. Now, one of hag’s forsaken creations haunts the abandoned village, and neither Mother nor her followers dare approach the place.

The Lost Court

This serene valley lies in the shadow of Mount Arak. By day, its woods throng with fat, happy animals. By night, the ground turns to mud and brambles
from which the transformed victims of deadly magic rise. A sanctuary from the terrible night beckons on the shore of Lake Lenore—the sturdy walls and
warm hearth of the Nobody’s Inn. The fey and their servants avoid the inn and its skeletal innkeeper, Bryonna, at all costs.

Mount Arak

Miles of tunnels run beneath Tepest’s forests and vales, all of which eventually lead to vast hidden caverns beneath the dramatic peaks of Mount Arak.
The fey create their homes in a realm of glowing crystals and mist- lled ssures. Dozens of different species live here, under the seelie Queen Maeve and
the unseelie Prince Loht. These siblings jointly rule their hidden realm together despite a strained relationship.
The inhabitants of Arak resent the people of the surface for ancient slights and view them as dangerous. They avoid the folk of Viktal but eagerly play
malicious tricks on those who venture into the wilderness. The fey could easily overwhelm the surface dwellers, but Maeve and Loht hold them at bay to
avoid the hag Lorinda’s ire. The fey monarchs believe Lorinda’s followers possess a weapon capable of unleashing a deadly force and that it is locked
beneath the three-peaked mountain called Gwydion’s Claw.

Mother Lorinda

MOTHER LORINDA
Lorinda, Laveeda, and Leticia, the Minde sk sisters, were gifts from the faeries to their lonely mother, a kind, honest woman who wanted daughters to
cherish. Their brutish father and brothers resented the girls, whose sufferings grew worse after their mother died. Desiring a better life, the sisters began
preying upon travelers who passed by their secluded home. They murdered wealthy strangers, stole their valuables, and disposed of the bodies in their
family’s stewpot. The sisters’ wickedness was revealed and when they squabbled over a stranger they all fancied and ultimately murdered the traveler.
When the rest of the family discovered their terrible deeds, the sisters killed their father and brothers. As their murder spree unfolded, the Mists rose.
When they cleared, unfamiliar mountains in a land called Tepest surrounded the sisters’ simple valley home, and their true nature as vicious hags
manifested.
From the strange fey of Tepest, the three hags learned magic that they used to prey upon the humans of the nearby valleys. Over generations, they
became known as ckle sages and weavers of dooms and miracles. Strangers sought them out, begging for bountiful crops, potent medicines, or the
children that fate denied them. The hags sowed blessings and despair in equal measure. Numerous hexblood children originated from the hags’ cauldron.
In time, the hag Lorinda asked her sisters to help create a child of their own. But Laveeda and Leticia refused, loathing the idea of sharing their magic and
secrets.
In secret, Lorinda assembled a creature of animal parts, brambles, and foul magic. With its help, she ambushed her sisters and trapped them inside their
own magic cauldron. Soon after, Lorinda’s creation fell apart, and she has used magic stolen from her imprisoned sisters ever since to create awed,
hungry beings she calls children (see “Lorinda’s Children” below). She manipulates the people of Tepest to provide excellent meals for her daughter.

Lorinda’s Powers and Dominion

Lorinda is a green hag of extreme age. In her true form, she carries her darling family—three grim dolls she calls Laveeda, Leticia, and Laoirse. When
dealing with the residents of Viktal, she takes on her benevolent illusory guise as Mother.

Mother. Lorinda wears the guise of Mother to manipulate the people of Viktal. In this illusory form, she appears as a matronly gure wearing a cloak of
moth wings and bearing a branch burning with torches. Using her control of the land as Tepest’s Darklord, Mother brings bounty to elds and ocks, or
curses farms with famine and aberrant livestock. Those in her service rarely produce offspring and so petition her for hexblood children (see chapter 1).
All Mother asks of her followers in return for her blessing is that they love her best, remain watchful for those of weak faith, and offer seasonal sacri ces
(see “Viktal and the Tithe”).

Mother’s Minders. Servants of Mother prove their faith through song, rustic art, and small sacri ces. The most devout, called Mother’s Minders, each
undertake a ritual in which they pluck out their left eye, gifting its sight to Mother. Lorinda can see through her followers’ empty eye sockets as though they
were hag eyes (detailed in the Monster Manual). Additionally, she can teleport at will from the Gurgyl to an unoccupied space adjacent to any Mother’s
Minder. On the rare times she does, she appears to physically crawl out of her follower’s empty eye socket.

Laveeda and Leticia. Lorinda’s sisters are imprisoned in a fat cauldron that serves as the engine for their animated home, the Gurgyl. Lorinda can use her
sisters’ prison to cast any of the spells shared by a hag coven (detailed in the Monster Manual). If the cauldron is unsealed, Laveeda and Leticia seek swift
revenge against their sister.

Lorinda’s Children. Lorinda pushes the limits of her foul magic to turn sticks and carcasses into her own children. She loves these monstrous beings,
naming them all Laoirse and treating them as if they were the same individual. These creatures rarely live for more than a few weeks—except when a
villager is sacri ced to Mother during the Tithe, which extends Laoirse’s life by a few weeks. Lorinda dotes on her children, rarely letting them leave the
Gurgyl, and wreaking horrible vengeance on any who harm them.

Lorinda’s Torment

Lorinda endures various miseries, the following chief among them:

Lorinda desires to have a family, but her inherently controlling, murderous nature leads her to destroy whatever she creates.
She constantly doubts the adoration she receives from her daughters and worshipers. Lorinda requires constant proof of their love.
Lorinda can create hexblood children for others, but any being she fashions for herself is monstrous, ravenous, and short-lived.
Lorinda fears that her sisters will one day escape their captivity and take revenge on her.

Roleplaying Lorinda

Lorinda loves the trappings of motherhood and is off-puttingly maternal toward all those she encounters. She’s quick to dote on others, calling them
unsettling pet names like “lostling,” “caterpillar,” or “sweetskin.” She insists that others call her some variation of “mother.” Lorinda relishes the worship of
Viktal’s people but treats them as livestock, guarding them ercely only to slaughter them as she wills. In her Mother guise, she maintains an air of
benevolence, claiming to ask for little despite her followers’ supposed sloth and ingratitude. She will do anything to prevent the villagers from learning her
true nature.

Personality Trait. “I’m the greatest parent in the world. I just need children worthy of my love.”

Ideal. “Good children get rewards. Bad children get punished.”

Bond. “My sweet Laoirse is my world.”

Flaw. “The children can’t know what I was—what I am.”

Adventures in Tepest

The horror of Tepest rises from its mysterious wilderness and the seemingly idyllic community of Viktal. Here, dread lies in contrasts. Tree branches grasp
like claws while every cottage exudes a warm glow. Smiles come readily but last too long. Wild owers grow from the carcasses of mutated lambs.

The Mists deposit visitors to Tepest near Viktal, whose folk encourage strangers to partake of the village’s hospitality. Will characters accept a welcome
respite, or will they be suspicious of their hosts? Do they ask about Mother? If they discover the horror of the Tithe, do the characters view the villagers as
victims or monsters? The following section, “Viktal and the Tithe,” explores how to draw characters into the village’s eerie traditions.
Beyond Viktal, the inescapable hostility of the natural world holds sway. Harsh weather casts a pall over the land, and predators and dangerous plant
creatures haunt the forests. Any kind of Fey creature might dwell in the domain—or beneath it in the realms of Arak. Even whimsical fey take on a
malicious tinge in Tepest, whether as thieves, kidnappers, deal-makers, or collectors of eerie trophies. Like the land itself, the fey have strange powers, and
villagers pushed to desperation seek them out in the hopes of bargaining for what fate has denied them.
When planning adventures in this domain, consider the plots on the Tepest Adventures table.

Tepest Adventures

d10 Adventure

Toxic, vision-inducing fungi taint the ruined village of Briggdarrow. Recently, homesteaders outside Viktal discovered the fungus on their properties
1

and claim it’s being spread by strange fungus-covered bipeds (myconids).
A hermit who once lived in the abandoned fortress on Cas Island hires the party to retrieve an heirloom she left behind. But she warns that the
2
Avanc, a dangerous lake monster, swims nearby.
3 A shepherd’s youngest child went missing after a sinkhole opened in a nearby pasture, revealing a glowing cavern that leads into the tunnels of Arak.
4 The Parrish family ed Viktal in fear of Mother. They seek help revealing her malice to their former neighbors before she nds them.
5 Mother’s Minders nail wicker dolls over the doors of a dozen houses in Viktal. Soon after, both the dolls and the inhabitants of those houses vanish.
A druid seeks aid in reclaiming their people’s holy site from an ancient, evil treant called Blightroot. The druid doesn’t mention that the surrounding
6
forests are a clonal colony of the villainous plant.
A grieving villager begs the characters to take their deceased loved one to the Cauldron, a pool said to restore life to a corpse bathed in its waters.
7
The villager says nothing of the terrible price the pool’s magic exacts.
Two young lovers go missing from Viktal. One is found days later, unable to remember anything, aged fty years, and desperate for help to nd their
8
partner.
9 A character’s re ection on the water warns of impending doom. The image insists they nd the Seer’s Glass, which can reveal the past and future.
A strange old woman claims to have lost her child and begs the characters for help. Thus disguised, Lorinda hopes to have the party track down her
10
runaway Laoirse.

Viktal and the Tithe

Those who come to Tepest inevitably arrive near the domain’s lone
surviving settlement, Viktal. There, they nd welcoming people, warm food
and beds, and an unsettling sense that the daily life and traditions of the
villagers conceal horrible secrets. What starts as glimpses of strange
behaviors or rustic decorations culminates in learning the village’s secrets

rsthand during the seasonal Tithe. This section explores the village of
Viktal and provides guidance on how the Tithe unfolds.

Welcome to Viktal

The rustic community of Viktal consists of a few dozen simple cottages
surrounding a market square, a meeting hall, and an inn. Farms and shing
shacks cluster around the village, shying away from the shadows of the

surrounding woods and mountains. Those who visit Viktal soon meet
Mother’s faithful, who appear at rst to practice a local, naturalistic faith.
But as the characters explore, they notice especially pious villagers with
missing eyes called Mother’s Minders and other locals engaging in
unsettling behavior.

The villagers are curious about strangers, and eventually someone invites
the outsiders to the Fisher’s Rest for a free meal and to share their stories.
The villagers encourage new arrivals to become part of the community,
since that’s what Mother teaches them to do—and to broaden the pool of
sacri ce fodder for the next Tithe.

When the characters visit Viktal, roll or choose options from the Sights in
Viktal table to set the tone of the village’s strangeness.

A VISITOR ENJOYS THE HOSPITALITY
OF VIKTAL DURING THE TITHE

Sights in Viktal

d8 Sight

1 Locals weave owers into crowns and sew cuts of meat into cloaks, creating traditional garb for an upcoming festival.
2 Most children in town are hexbloods (see chapter 1). Evasive locals refuse to say why.

Villagers harvest wings and chrysalises from caged moths, which are powdered and used to make “shift spice”—a pervasive ingredient in local
3

dishes.
4 A group of young people dramatically sob at the window of an old woman, who tosses horned wicker dolls to those who sob loudest.
5 A local sher teaches knife-wielding youngsters how to debone live eels and create festive “elver-crowns,” a grim local decoration.
6 With adult approval, youngsters a x hornlike sticks to a terri ed animal’s head.
7 A lovingly carved door or mural depicts a woman’s face made of moth wings, watching over an explicitly detailed scene of butchery or surgery.
8 Villagers sing and dance in a circle around someone undergoing a ritual to have their left eye removed.

The Tithe

The Tithe festival takes place in Viktal four times each year, during the equinoxes and solstices. During this day-long celebration, Mother’s followers revel
in the bounty of nature and new life. The villagers spend weeks in preparation for the celebration, and villagers eagerly explain that the Tithe is a
commemoration of nature’s abundance during which a measure of the town’s bounty is returned to Mother. In truth, the a festival is meant to prepare one
of the villagers for slaughter at the hands of Lorinda’s child, the latest Laoirse.
Tithe Celebration. The Tithe’s festivities start early in the morning, when the town’s elders lead everyone in a parade to a prepared festival ground in a eld
outside town. The assembled villagers spend the day partaking in contests, feasting, dancing, and song.
Tithe Events. Celebratory events on the day include traditional entertainment and competitions. Everyone is encouraged to participate and live life to its
fullest. Events end with contest victors receiving small tokens as rewards, and whoever wins the most before dusk is named Mother’s Favorite. These

events involve simple challenges and ability checks, though elaborate events might run as chases (see the Dungeon Master’s Guide) or combat with
weapons customized to deal low or no damage. Roll for or choose two or three activities from the Tithe Events table to determine what events the
characters might participate in during the Tithe.

Tithe Events

d6 Event Token

1 Crooked Joust. Participants use stilts strapped to their arms and legs to topple one another. Five-legged sheep
gurine

2 Powrie Chase. Pursuers dress as wicked faeries, donning tattered red cloaks and using sharp darts in a game of tag. Red wooden ring

3 Lost Siblings. Blindfolded participants identify other players by touching their hair. Sheaf of black wheat

4 Gossamer Glutton. Whoever eats the most live moths wins. Glass butter y wing

5 Hungry Sister. A dozen players with a rope tied around them try to stop someone from getting past them and stealing a A dried length of pear

pear from a bowl. skin

6 Never Naughty. Participants take turns attering three elderly villagers, who decide who wins and who gets paddled. A reed switch

Mother’s Blessing. At dusk, the town’s leader names Mother’s Favorite and grants them a crown of white camellias prior to an hours-long, communal
feast. Then, near midnight, the celebrants move farther into the elds to receive Mother’s blessing.

At midnight, amid ceremony and solemnity, Mother appears to her worshipers. Mother’s Favorite is instructed to carry a bowl of food and gifts to Mother.
As they do, the latest Laoirse—viewed by the villagers as a manifestation of nature’s hunger—appears and attacks. All assembled expect Laoirse to
slaughter the victim, spilling their blood and bringing fertility to the elds for another season—and gaining an extra few weeks of life before inevitably
decaying like all Mother’s prior children. As Laoirse drags away her meal, Mother blesses her faithful and vanishes. The villagers merrily return to their
homes, having completed the Tithe for another season.

The particulars of how this ritual plays out are up to you, but it always culminates in Laoirse’s attack. Whether a character is chosen as Mother’s Favorite
or the party tries to defend the victim, roll or choose an option from the Lorinda’s Daughter table to determine what horror arrives at the ritual’s climax.
Creatures on the table marked with an asterisk are detailed in chapter 5.

Lorinda’s Daughter

d6 Laoirse’s Form Statistics CR

1 Giant upright-walking ram Minotaur 3
2 Humanoid made of wicker Shambling mound 5
3 Dozens of stitched together corpses Zombie clot* 6
4 Shivering, hairless, rabbit-bear Abominable yeti 9
5 Bipedal wolf-elk Loup garou* 13
6 Giant, shrieking, bipedal sheep Goristro 17

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Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, their respective logos, and all Wizards titles and characters are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. ©2021 Wizards.

TEPEST OTHER DOMAINS OF DREAD

Valachan

Domain of the Hunter

Darklord: Chakuna

Genres: Gothic horror and slasher horror

Hallmarks: Diabolical traps, hostile wilderness, survival games

Mist Talismans: Displacer beast skin, poisonous ower blossom, rusty foot trap

In the jungles of Valachan, survivors must guard their hearts lest something monstrous eat them. For some, that risk is worth the reward of the unusual
plants and magical creatures this land is home to. But Valachan is ercely protected by its Darklord, the devious and immortal hunter Chakuna. She roams
the jungles hunting dangerous beasts—and when she grows dissatis ed with simpler prey, she draws sapient quarry into a fatal contest.

Pitted against other conscripted players in a game of cat and mouse, Chakuna’s prey struggle to survive the deadly Valachan rain forest and one another,
all while being pursued by the Darklord. Treacherous quicksand and other deadly hazards cover the terrain, and populations of stealthy werepanthers
support the Darklord. But desperate contenders might also nd unlikely allies who oppose Chakuna and her horri c hunts.

Valachan has villages but contains no cities or towns, since the forest doesn’t allow them to be built. Every shivering leaf and every creature’s eyes hold an
eerie awareness. The forests watch, and they whisper what they see to Chakuna.

A mystery that ties the Darklord to her domain could shatter her power or plunge the land into utter catastrophe. The secret pulses in the breath of the
forest, timed to the heartbeat of its master. Those who survive long enough in Valachan to discover its secrets might end up twisted into the predator they
oppose.

Noteworthy Features

Those familiar with Valachan know the following facts:

Valachan is a land of dense rain forests, sandy shores, and forest-covered mountains. This wilderness is fantastically dangerous, but the people who
dwell here have long ourished.
Valachan hosts the Trial of Hearts, a battle royale conducted during certain full moons by the land’s greatest hunter, Chakuna.
Any wild plant or creature in the jungles of Valachan might turn hostile toward explorers.
Packs of displacer beasts roam the jungle, led by Yana, a preternaturally cunning displacer beast that serves Chakuna.

Settlements and Sites

Valachan is beautiful, lush, and wild. Every kind of colorful creature and vibrant bloom ourishes here, and from its deep gulches to its heady mountain
ridges, the domain teems with life. Rumors of this land’s rare abundance often escape the domain, enticing traders, herbalists, beast tamers, and seekers
of magical reagents to search it out. But visitors must tread lightly and take their plunder sparingly, or the wrath of the Darklord will surely nd them.
Valachan has no established roads, but well-traveled game trails snake through the dense forest, marked out by generations of inhabitants. These paths
are easily spotted by those who know how to look for them.
Every living thing in Valachan generates wily camou age, venom, spines, tricks, or traps. Nothing here is safe, defenseless, or as it seems.

MAP 3.14: VALACHAN
VIEW PLAYER VERSION

Eirubamba River

Wild owers, enticing fruits, and medicinal herbs grow in the forests and upon the shorelines around the Eirubamba River. Most rain forest predators won’t
approach the river, though, fearing the territorial giant wasps that swarm among the rare plants.

Oselo

Darklord Chakuna’s home village, Oselo appears prosperous and relaxed, and the people are friendly to traders and visitors. Nothing strange occurs during
the day. But at night, everything changes. Hunters shift into the forms of panthers and ocelots, forming packs that roam deep into the jungle and return
with meat after assisting Chakuna on her hunts. In the aftermath, an underlying disquiet permeates the entire village. A spiritual struggle torments the
community, the people torn between wanting to live in peace and obeying Chakuna’s will.
The Oselo people occasionally adopt wayward outsiders, granting them protection from the Trial of Hearts. Once adopted into the village, individuals must
prove themselves by undertaking initiation ceremonies focused around surviving in the forest for a week with no tools.

Pantara Lodge

The seat of power in Valachan, Pantara Lodge is a series of thatch buildings strung together high in the forest canopy, suspended above the overgrown
ruins of a castle reclaimed by the jungle. Chakuna’s home holds only the bare necessities: an armory, an in rmary, and a stable of displacer beasts.
Chakuna’s displacer beast hunting partner, Yana, remains by her side here.

Those who listen closely while at Pantara Lodge hear muttering in the night. These whispers issue from the head of Urik von Kharkov, Valachan’s deposed
former Darklord, who spews curses and secrets from a chamber hidden at the lodge’s heart.

Shuaran

The skilled warriors of Shuaran village don’t shape-shift like the Oselo, though Oselo refugees who believe Chakuna’s rule is cursed and shun her
protection can be found here. Opposed to the rule of Chakuna, the Shuaran fear her deeply and might aid those who resist her, de ning their relationships
with strangers through a prickly, easily offended sense of honor. The Shuaran constantly guard against a local shrewdness of howling apes to the south
near Yakum Beach. A soft and menacing whooping in the distance can be heard in the village at all times.

Yaguara’s Heart

The most secret of secret places in Valachan, Yaguara’s Heart lies at the center of a maze of mountains southwest of Pantara Lodge. Within this canyon
lies a small, crumbling temple nestled among treacherous cliffs and grasping forest. In the blood-painted caverns hidden beneath the temple lies a stone
altar bearing the still-beating heart of Darklord Chakuna. Here, an aspiring Darklord can perform a ritual to consume Chakuna’s heart and take her place as
ruler of Valachan, or destroy it and loose the sapient rage of the rain forest on anyone trapped within the domain’s borders. Only Chakuna, the displacer
beast Yana, and von Kharkov’s remains know the location of Chakuna’s heart and how to claim her power.

Chakuna

In Valachan, the fall of one Darklord led inevitably to the rise of another. For Chakuna, caught in a cycle of bloodshed and trapped by the forest that lends
her power, the tools of the oppressor became the means of her bitter domination.

The Darklord Urik von Kharkov ruled from the now-ruined Castle Pantara, a fortress of tyranny and torment from which he hunted the people of Valachan
for sport. Over untold years, the hunt grew in complexity, and von Kharkov sought out the rarest, most dangerous prey. Chakuna’s people, the Oselo,
became his favorite targets.

The Oselo are hunters and people of the jungle. But by the light of the moon, many grow fur, claws, and fangs, revealing their true nature as watchful and
dangerous lycanthropes. By the time Chakuna was a teenager, von Kharkov had ne-tuned the horror of his hunts into a regulated tournament. He hunted
her people to the brink of extinction, preventing their escape by closing the domain’s borders and trapping them within the Mists.

Chakuna swore to save her people. She entered the tournament freely, determined to turn the tables on von Kharkov or die. She vowed to sacri ce
whatever it took to defeat the Darklord—but learned quickly that it takes monstrosity to beat a monster. Chakuna found von Kharkov’s weakness, burned
Castle Pantara to the ground, and kept the former Darklord’s head.

Chakuna’s Powers and Dominion

Chakuna gained her status as a Darklord when she defeated Urik von Kharkov. In so doing, though, she discovered a terrible truth about the nature of
Valachan, and she now lives to maintain the domain and the cycle of predator and prey. Chakuna has statistics similar to a weretiger, but her animal and
hybrid forms have the appearance of a panther.

Heartless. Chakuna has no heart—literally. At the height of her contest with von Kharkov, she ripped it out of her chest with her ngers and placed it at the
center of the Yaguara Mountain maze, then replaced it by taking and eating von Kharkov’s heart. Doing so, she co-opted von Kharkov’s powers and
accursed immortality and claimed Valachan as her own. Within Yaguara’s Heart, the sacred nexus of the maze, Chakuna’s heart still beats as one with the
land, in nitely connected and as robust as the rain forest. But like anything that lives, her tie with the domain she’s claimed must be maintained. Life eats
life. And so Chakuna sacri ces the blood of the hunted to the land to maintain her grip on power. If she doesn’t, the plants and animals of the domain
grow hostile, threatening to wipe out all who dwell there.

The Trial of Hearts. Chakuna has formalized the slaughter she must commit to maintain her tie with the domain as a ritualized battle royale known as the
Trial of Hearts (detailed below).

Closing the Borders. When Chakuna chooses to close the borders of her domain, the seas grow rough and the Mists rise. In addition to their normal
effects (see “In uence of the Mists” at the start of this chapter), the Mists of Valachan are home to displacer beasts and other deadly predators that
attack all creatures they meet.

Chakuna’s Torment

Chakuna’s tie to Valachan is different from the domain bonds of most other Darklords, as hers is a willing bond. She must endlessly steep the land in
blood to ensure her survival and protect her people from the vicious land, so that the hunts she vowed to stop now continue in her name. She shields her
people from the slaughter, but the rest of Valachan is fair game.

Roleplaying Chakuna

The whole web of life in Valachan bends to a singular malevolent consciousness that demands Chakuna prove her worth as its keeper and apex predator,
lest it rise up to consume her people. In response, Chakuna is canny, remorseless, and vindictive. She’s come to enjoy playing with her food—and she has
a whole domain to feed.
Personality Trait. “I owe nothing to those I hunt. They are nothing more than prey.”
Ideal. “If I’m cleverer than you, then I deserve to live, and you deserve to die.”
Bond. “My people are the strongest people, and I ensure they survive.”
Flaw. “Everyone and everything lies. Only by expecting treachery will a hunter survive.”

Adventures in Valachan

Valachan forces adventurers to survive in a wilderness that’s not merely hostile, but is actively trying to destroy them. Other terrors in the Domains of
Dread take the form of vicious villains or terrifying monsters. But in Valachan, the land is the greatest threat, and the domain’s murderous Darklord hones
that threat like a weapon.
The Trial of Hearts anchors the terror in Valachan, but the domain’s dangerous wilderness threatens anyone who explores the land. In addition to natural
rain-forest predators, dinosaurs and displacer beasts roam the domain. Its varied Plant creatures include wicked twig blights, cruel treants, and
manipulative dryads all expressing the land’s underlying blood thirst. The people of the land—the werepanthers of Oselo, the Shuaran, and remote groups
of lizardfolk—might provide assistance to outsiders, but they don’t tolerate those who insult their ways or bring Chakuna’s wrath upon them. Parties
without experience exploring dangerous wilds can enlist a guide to aid them, a service that the Oselo are particularly willing to provide.
Valachan provides the opportunity to exaggerate everything the players and characters know about the threats of nature. The Survival skill proves
invaluable in navigating the rain forest, determining what kind of creature mauled a corpse, and understanding how different venoms a ict a jungle
survivor. The primal power of the land manifests as environmental hazards such as sudden storms, cliff walls made of vertical quicksand, and naturally
occurring pit and snare traps. Whispering hollows, carnivorous plants, and cursing winds can overtly reveal the wilderness’s hunger.
Consider the plots on the Valachan Adventures table when planning adventures in this domain.

Valachan Adventures

d8 Adventure

The Oselo joyously adopt a new member into their community, but the ceremony erupts in strife when Chakuna appears and demands that all
1

newcomers participate in the Trial of Hearts.
Shuaran warriors seek help in slaying a massive saber-toothed tiger killing their people. They don’t mention that they recently lost the Cat of Felkovic,
2
a sentient magic item similar to a gurine of wondrous power that conjures a feline killer.
A sapient giant spider emerges from the caverns known as the Council of the Whip Spider. It demands that the Oselo provide it a sacri ce, or every
3
arachnid in Valachan will attack the village.

d8 Adventure

4 The tyrannosaurus rex called Mother Heartless rampages from the Forest of Fossils, incensed by something amiss in her hunting grounds.
5 The lizardfolk of the lakes surrounding the Anquara Plateau discover a submerged ruin and unleash an aboleth that now holds them in thrall.
6 Beast-shaped treants animate and lay siege to Pantara Lodge, obeying Urik von Kharkov’s will.

The merchant ship Zodiac runs aground on Kiru Island. The sailors seek help salvaging other shipwrecks and escaping back to sea—preferably
7

before Chakuna notices them.
8 A pack of displacer beasts washes up dead in Sangui Cove. An enraged Chakuna prowls the jungle, slaying anyone she suspects of being involved.

The Trial of Hearts

Those who venture into Valachan unprepared risk running afoul of Chakuna and becoming her quarry in the deadly Trial of Hearts. Scenarios like the
following might lead to the characters becoming involved in the trial:
Unwitting Criminals. The characters come to Valachan seeking a miraculous plant, rare creature, or unique item—and are captured when they discover
their prize is sacred to the domain’s people. To redeem themselves, outsiders must participate in the Trial of Hearts.
Deadly Detour. While traveling elsewhere, the party is shipwrecked or ambushed by a deadly predator. The characters awake in Valachan, where Chakuna
treats them as trespassers.
Mindtaker Mists. The Mists deposit the consciousnesses of each of the characters into guests at Pantara Lodge. Whether the guests are recreational
hunters, unsuspecting foreign nobles, or skilled local warriors, they soon discover that Chakuna’s hospitality has a deadly ulterior motive. Consult the
“Survivors” section of chapter 4 for options to represent those destined to become prey.

CHAKUNA CORNERS HER PREY IN THE HEART OF VALACHAN

Rules of the Trial

On the night of certain full moons, Chakuna selects fteen souls within her domain who she considers worthy prey. She leads the participants to Pantara
Lodge, shows them every courtesy, and then sets out the rules of her test:

Contenders may divide into small groups or choose to participate alone.
Once groups are established at the trial’s start, alliances between contenders are not permitted.
Contenders must reach one of two shrines: either on Kiru Island or between the lakes called the Scars atop Anquara Plateau.
Contenders may leave Pantara Lodge at dawn the next day. Later that day, at dusk, Chakuna pursues the contenders with hunting partners of her
choice, attempting to slay anyone she encounters outside a shrine.
Contenders may kill one another for any reason—particularly to take a shrine.
The trial does not stop for any reason until Chakuna arrives at both shrines and acknowledges the winners there.
Winners are escorted to Shuaran, and from there, out of Valachan.
Losers rot where they fall in the jungle.
Violations of the rules are punishable by death.

Chakuna closes her domain’s borders while the trial is underway and can change the hunt’s rules on a whim. For example, if she catches a competitor too
soon, she might offer to release them if they sacri ce an arm to feed her beasts.

Travel in Valachan

Impenetrable rain forests, jagged cliffs, and deadly rapids ll the wilderness of Valachan, and characters exploring the domain or participating in the Trial
of Hearts must travel through these deadly wilds. Maps of Valachan can be obtained from the Oselo, the Shuaran people, or from Chakuna.

The domain’s jungles are di cult terrain, reducing a party’s pace by half. This means characters can move through most of the domain at a normal pace
of 11/2 miles per hour and 12 miles per day. Characters can move at a fast or slow pace, with effects as detailed in the Player’s Handbook.

Characters able to y nd their ight slowed by strong winds (effectively di cult terrain), and might face deadly airborne creatures such as chimeras,
harpies, and pteranodons. Chakuna might also add rules to the Trial of Hearts that deem ight and magical travel off limits. If she does, the Mists aid in
enforcing these rules.

As Darklord of Valachan, Chakuna isn’t impeded by di cult terrain in the domain’s wilderness. Instead of tracking how Chakuna follows characters
participating in the hunt, have her appear to watch and toy with other participants, then confront the characters at the most dramatic moment.

Dangers of the Trial

Valachan offers thousands of ways to die, and characters can encounter many of them during the Trial of Hearts, including jungle predators, animated
plants, and displacer beasts. Those who choose Kiru Island as their goal must cross treacherous waters to reach it, while those who head for the Scars
must climb the towering Anquara Plateau. Additionally, each hour the characters travel through the domain, roll on the Valachan Hunt Complications table
for an encounter. Characters traveling at a fast pace roll twice on this table and use the lower result. Characters traveling at a slow pace roll twice on the
table and use the higher result.

Completing the Trial

At both Kiru Island and the Scars, a shrine on stilts offers the only safety during the Trial of Hearts. When Chakuna arrives at a shrine, whoever she nds
inside wins the trial—or so she claims. Whether Chakuna abides by the rules of her trial is up to you.

Ultimately, escaping Chakuna requires nding her heart and destroying it. This prevents Chakuna from recovering if slain. If the characters learn the secret
of how Chakuna consumed von Kharkov’s heart and took his place as Darklord, any of them might seek to follow a similar path. Doing so requires
replacing Chakuna’s heart with a character’s own heart, or the land utterly rebels and tries to kill all sapient beings in the domain. Those who take
Chakuna’s mantle can ensure their allies’ safety, but Valachan becomes their eternal prison.

Valachan Hunt Complications

d20 Complication

d20 Complication
1
Chakuna appears and attacks. Roll a die. If you roll an even number, this occurs during another complication and you can roll again on this table. If
2 you roll an odd number, Chakuna attacks suddenly without another complication.

3 Dense foliage, swampy ground, clouds of insects, or thick fog slows the party’s travel to a crawl. The party chooses one character, who must
4 succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check or the party’s travel speed is reduced by half for the next hour (this is in addition to any speed
5 reduction from di cult terrain).

6 The area is riddled with traps set by Chakuna. A random character must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check or fall into a spiked pit (see
the Dungeon Master’s Guide).
7
8 Chuuls, vine blights, or zombie plague spreaders (see chapter 5) ambush the party.
9
10 The characters nd a tree bound in rope. One or more withered, oversized hearts hang from cords attached to its branches. Roll a die. If you roll an
11 even number, the hearts look grim but are harmless. If you roll an odd number, the 1d6 hearts have the statistics of gnashing death’s heads (see
12 chapter 5) and attack.
13
14 Clouds of insects, persistent leeches, or other parasites torment the party. Each character must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom (Survival) check or
15 gain 1 level of exhaustion. Creatures immune to disease suffer no ill effects from the parasites.
16
17 The party encounters a druid, green hag, or displacer beast that is not part of the hunt. If a character succeeds on a DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion)
18–20 check, that creature shows them a route that allows them to move at double their speed for the next hour and avoid rolling on this table at the end of
that time.

An individual or a group of competitors—gladiators, scouts, or tribal warriors—attempts to ambush the party.

Whispers in the Druidic language issue from the boughs of trees and cracks in the earth. They repeat one word: Blood.

A desperate competitor appears. Roll a die. If you roll an even number, the competitor is gravely wounded, incoherent, and suffering from
hallucinations. If you roll an odd number, the competitor offers to help the party break the trial’s rules and is struck dead by an arrow from the forest
seconds later.

Dinosaurs, giant poisonous snakes, or hydras attack the party.

A rope bridge provides the only method of crossing a river or ravine. Each character must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to cross
the bridge or fall 60 feet into the jungle or water below. The bridge has AC 11, 16 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.

The party discovers an overgrown ruin. A character who succeeds on a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check spots a relief carving of a wicked-looking
gure ripping out its own heart.

A random character must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check or fall into quicksand (see the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

Panthers, displacer beasts, or werepanthers (weretigers) attempt to ambush the party.

The characters discover the corpse of a competitor. Roll a die. If you roll an even number, the corpse has a potion of healing. If you roll an odd
number, the corpse’s heart has been removed.

The party chooses one character who must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom (Survival) check. On a failed check, the party becomes lost. It takes the
characters 1 hour to realize they are 1d4 miles away from their assumed location in a disadvantageous direction.

No complication

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VALACHAN TRAVELERS IN THE MISTS

Other Domains of Dread

The Land of the Mists comprise more than the domains presented in this chapter thus far. Countless domains drift through the Mists. The following lands
hint at the multitudes of additional domains that make up the Domains of Dread. Detail and explore these domains in your adventures as you please, or
use them as examples when creating your own domains using the guidance in chapter 2. Not all domains need to be elaborately detailed settings. As the
domains in this section demonstrate, creating a simple concept for a Darklord and the horrors surrounding them can be a perfect starting point for further
development over the course of your adventures.

While exploring the Domains of Dread, should the Mists carry characters to a mysterious domain, roll on the Domains of Ravenloft table to randomly
determine where the Dark Powers have guided the party. Domains marked with an asterisk are described earlier in this chapter.

Domains of Ravenloft

d100 Domain

01–04 Barovia*
05–06 Bluetspur*
07–09 Borca*
10–12 Carnival*
13–14 Cyre 1313
15–18 Darkon*
19–21 Dementlieu*
22–24 Falkovnia*
25–26 Forlorn
27–28 Ghastria
29–30 G’henna
31–33 Har’Akir*
34–36 Hazlan*
37–39 I’Cath*
40–41 Invidia
42–44 Kalakeri*
45–47 Kartakass*
48–49 Keening
50–51 Klorr
52–54 Lamordia*
55–56 Markovia

d100 Domain

57–59 Mordent*
60–62 Nightmare Lands
63–64 Niranjan
65–66 Nova Vaasa
67–69 Odaire
70–71 Rider’s Bridge
72–74 Richemulot*
75–76 Risibilos
77–78 Scaena
79–81 Sea of Sorrows
82–83 Shadowlands
84–85 Souragne
86–87 Staunton Bluffs
88–90 Tepest*
91–92 Tovag
93–95 Valachan*
96–97 Vhage Agency
98–99 Zherisia
DM’s design
100

Cyre 1313, The Mourning Rail

Darklord: The Last Passenger

Hallmarks: Escape from disaster, lightning rail

The disaster known as the Mourning numbers among the greatest tragedies to befall the world of Eberron—a mysterious calamity that killed nearly
everyone in the land of Cyre. In the nation’s capital of Metrol, some citizens foresaw the coming devastation and sought to escape upon lightning rails,
elemental-powered engines capable of pulling trains of passenger carriages. As scared innocents packed Metrol’s last lightning rail, known as Cyre 1313,
the evacuation was delayed at the demand of a late-arriving VIP. Hundreds were forced from passenger carriages to admit and maintain the secrecy of
this last passenger and their retinue. When the lightning rail did nally depart, it was too late. The disaster of the Mourning overtook the train and its
hundreds of escapees. But even as it did, the Mists claimed Cyre 1313 and all aboard it. Now, the last lightning rail from Metrol hurtles through the Mists
as a traveling domain. Those on board fear the disaster pursuing them, the mysterious passenger seated in the train’s foremost carriage, and the necrotic
energy now infusing the engine’s elemental spirit. Yet none of the passengers realize their endless escape is pointless, as Cyre 1313 carries only the dead.

CYRE 1313, THE MOURNING RAIL, THUNDERS THROUGH DOMAINS,
EVER TRYING TO ESCAPE THE DISASTER THAT SLEW ITS PASSENGERS

Forlorn

Darklord: Tristen ApBlanc

Hallmarks: Life and death, strange invention

Tristen ApBlanc was born amid tragedy, the son of a vampire father and a human noble. His parents were murdered by fearful villagers, leaving Tristen to
be adopted by local druids. But during his teenage years, Tristen’s dhampir nature revealed itself (see chapter 1). When the druids discovered the youth’s
hunger for blood, they cast him out, but Tristen grew enraged and slaughtered the druids, draining them all. The sacred waters of the druids’ rituals had
infused their blood, though, making it poison to the half-vampire. Tristen died with his adopted family, but as the Mists closed in around their sacred stone
circle, he rose a ghost. Unexpectedly, with the dawn, Tristen’s dhampir body was restored. Now, Tristen lives by day, a perpetually young, charming,
invention-obsessed dhampir dwelling in Castle Tristenoira, the smoking fortress his goblin servants built over the druid circle of his one-time family. At
night, though, the young dhampir dies a painful death, in his spectral form, and seeks to scour all that is green and vibrant from his land.

Ghastria

Darklord: Marquis Stezen D’Polarno

Hallmarks: Cursed art, dour population

A notorious hedonist, Marquis Stezen D’Polarno was popular among his noble peers but craved immortality. A mysterious artist offered him eternity by
painting D’Polarno’s portrait upon a magical canvas. But the artist didn’t mention that the painting would strip D’Polarno of his love of life and natural
charm. The marquis has discovered a reprieve from his now-dulled existence, however—once every season, when he shows the painting to an audience, it
consumes their souls and refreshes his thrill for life. D’Polarno’s artistic predations captured the attention of the Dark Powers, which drew his lands into
the Mists. Now, Ghastria is a fertile island that, like its lord, lacks an essential vim except for once a season when vigor eetingly returns.

G’henna

Darklord: Yagno Petrovna
Hallmarks: Corrupt theocracy, false deity

Born of a Barovian family, Yagno Petrovna went missing upon the slopes of Mount Ghakis as a youth. As a violent storm rose, he took shelter in a
mysterious ruin and was found wandering the hills weeks later, babbling about an amber idol and the god he’d discovered, Zhakata the Provider and the
Devourer. His family sought to help him, but when they discovered Yagno secretly sacri cing people to his ctitious god, they chased him into the Mists.
When Yagno emerged, the domain of G’henna sprawled before him.

Life is hard in G’henna, a rocky land home to erce, starving animals. The domain’s people worship the bestial god Zhakata and regularly travel to the
cathedral-city of Zhukar. There, they offer their crops in sacri ce and hear Zhakata’s will through the words of revered prophet Yagno Petrovna.

Invidia

Darklord: Gabrielle Aderre

Hallmarks: Bad parents, possessed children

Gabrielle Aderre is convinced that her son, Malocchio, is destined for greatness. From her estate outside the village of Karina, she employs an endless
string of servants to provide Malocchio the best possible upbringing. Inevitably, though, every servant ees or vanishes, either as a result of Gabrielle’s
unreasonable expectations or the deadly tricks and accidents that frequently occur around the child. Gabrielle isn’t content to leave her son’s grand
destiny to chance, though. Using her precious bone spirit board, she calls upon supernatural forces to guide and protect her son. Spirits, angels, ends,
and worse answer her summons, but as long as they chart Malocchio’s path to glory, Gabrielle eagerly accepts their gifts.

Keening

Darklord: Tristessa

Hallmarks: Banshee, silent village

The forbidding land of Keening is dominated by Mount Lament, at whose base lies the village of Anwrtyn, where all the residents are deaf. This is no
accident, for the locals purposefully deafen themselves so they won’t hear the shrieking of the banshee Tristessa, a mournful spirit who roams Mount
Lament and whose wail carries through the night. In life, Tristessa dwelled under Mount Arak in Tepest (detailed earlier in this chapter), but she was exiled
for crimes against her people. In death, she endlessly seeks to be reunited with the family slain by her misdeeds.

Klorr

Darklord: Klorr

Hallmarks: Impending doom, surreal environment

Klorr is the end of worlds. Here, shattered islands drift through a misty netherworld, caught in a swirling spiral that ends at the unignorable, burning eye
called Klorr. Thirteen stars orbit this sun-like sphere, one winking out every hour. Each time one of the stars dies, one of the domain’s ruined islands is
drawn into Klorr and consumed by ames. With it, each other island wrenches ahead, then halts, one hour closer to the same doom.

Those who dwell upon the crumbling land masses trapped in the domain constantly count the hours until their end. Few know how they came to Klorr or
when new islands are added to the cycle, only that the Mists closed in and doomed them. Amid the realm’s surreal skies oat the ruins of lost and failed
domains—among them, a tower like a blackened rose and a city of skulls—as well as timeless echoes of domains that yet exist. Those cast away amid
this orderly apocalypse grow ever more desperate to defy the doomsday clock and the will of a hidden Darklord, the obsessed clockmaker named Klorr.

Markovia

Darklord: Dr. Frantisek Markov

Hallmarks: Depraved science, sapient animals

Dr. Frantisek Markov is a genius—but less so than yesterday. His Markov Formula grants him unparalleled intellect, but it insidiously steals more than it
gives, making him increasingly dull-witted and bestial in form. Despairing, the doctor ed to a tropical island he dubbed Markovia, where he tests new
versions of his formula on the local fauna in hopes of recovering his waning genius. As a result of these tests, animals across Markovia now possess
sapience and have been deluded into believing Markov is their god.

The Nightmare Lands

Darklord: The Nightmare Court

Hallmarks: Nightmares, reoccurring dreams

Any who sleep might close their eyes and become forever trapped in the
Nightmare Lands, a phantasmagoric realm whose features shift endlessly.
Those who visit and escape speak of malicious wildernesses; the empty
city called Nod; and uncountable drifting spheres, each containing a
stranger’s unending nightmare. Insidious entities called the Nightmare
Court rule the domain. None know how many members compose the court,
but they include the tragically graceful Ghost Dancer, the tomb-bound
Hypnos, the witch Mullonga, the trickster Morpheus, and the embodiment
of terror known as the Nightmare Man. These beings are artisans of
nightmares, visiting terrors upon any whose sleeping minds brush against
the domain.

The Nightmare Court’s members share one commonality: all are the living
nightmares of Caroline Dinwiddy, a potent psychic who repressed
memories of her own heartless deeds. These memories torment her
sleeping mind, creating the Nightmare Court. Deep within the City of Nod,
inside a warped reimagining of the clinic where she once worked, Dinwiddy
sleeps without waking, refusing to face the terrors her dreams unleash
upon innocents across the multiverse.

THE GHOST DANCER VISITS NIGHTMARES
UPON A SLEEPING VICTIM

Niranjan

Darklord: Sarthak

Hallmarks: Asceticism, brainwashing, shadows
An island chain that once belonged to the domain of Kalakeri, the Ashram of Niranjan was a vibrant vihara, or monastery, for ascetic scholars who
practiced Ramsana, a way of life whose central tenet advises nonattachment to the material world. Now only a small, reclusive group of these scholars
remains, led by the elderly sadhu (holy gure) Niranjan. In truth, Niranjan is Sarthak, a wicked bronze dragon who send agents into the Mists bearing his
philosophical writings. These works promise escape and peace to any who adopt their teachings and search the Mists for their source. Anyone who
comes to the ashram must divest themselves of worldly goods, which are added to Sarthak’s hidden hoard. The false sadhu then helps his victim enter a
blissful trance that causes their soul to slip away from their body over the course of days. Sarthak consumes this soul and replaces it with a shadow,
leaving the victim’s body under his control.

Nova Vaasa

Darklord: Myar Hiregaard

Hallmarks: Nomadic riders, transformation

An unparalleled warrior, Myar Hiregaard united the nomadic tribes of the vast plains of Nova Vaasa. But, while respected as a soldier, Myar made a poor
peacetime leader. When brutal games could no longer keep her interest, she incited hostilities between two of her vassal tribes, then led her own forces to

crush them. Subtly, she did this again and again. After Myar’s greatest massacre, the Mists enfolded all of Nova Vaasa, splitting Myar’s personality in two
when they did. Now she rules her people with strict fairness, but when her bloodlust is piqued, she transforms into the raging knight called Malkan and
sows discord across the plains.

Odaire

Darklord: Maligno

Hallmarks: Evil toys, village of children

The toymaker Guiseppe had his wish for a family granted when his creation, the marionette Figlio, came to life. A proud father, the toymaker presented his
son to all the other people of his village, Odaire. The local children loved Figlio, but their parents were skeptical, saying the marionette was nothing but a
toy. Over time, this doubt enraged Figlio, and the marionette convinced Guiseppe to craft siblings for him. Then, when the time was right, Guiseppe’s
creations did away with all the adults in Odaire. Claimed by the Mists, Odaire is a village populated only by children and ruled by the carrionette Figlio, who
now calls himself Maligno. (See chapter 5 for details on carrionettes.)

The Rider’s Bridge

Darklord: The Headless Rider

Hallmarks: Haunted bridge, murderous legend

Nearly every domain knows some version of the apparition called the Headless Rider. It appears as a mercenary in dark armor in Mordent, a ghostly
cataphract in Har’Akir, and a mutated centaur in Lamordia, but in each incarnation certain details remain true: the rider is missing its head, it appears upon
a prominent bridge, and it decapitates victims as it endlessly searches for its own head. Should someone escape an encounter with the Headless Rider,
they might nd a different domain on the opposite side of the spirit’s bridge. (See the dullahan in chapter 5 for more details on headless riders.)

Risibilos

Darklord: Doerdon

Hallmarks: Misdirection, ventriloquism

The Risibilos is a small music hall, similar to those found in any decent-sized city. Its lord, Doerdon, was once a king—one so thoroughly humorless that he
forbade his subjects the privilege of laughter, upon pain of death. He is now cursed to entertain others, a task he is utterly unquali ed for.

Fortunately, the Mists delivered him a partner, a ventriloquist’s dummy carved in the likeness of Strahd von Zarovich. The eerie dummy has a mind of its
own, insisting that it is the real Strahd and that the creature currently sitting upon the throne of Castle Ravenloft is a mere impostor. It rages at the
audience and makes audacious promises to any who will help it regain its station. This is hilarious to anyone with the slightest inkling of who Strahd is,
and their peals of laughter are agony to Doerdon’s ears.

Scaena

Darklord: Lemont Sediam Juste

Hallmarks: Reality-manipulating theater

Lemont Sediam Juste fancied himself a serious playwright, and he achieved popular, if not critical, acclaim throughout Dementlieu for his works of grisly
horror. But he craved respectability, and with his new play Apparitions, Lemont believed he would nd it. The night of the premiere, when the audience
signaled their boredom, the playwright was crestfallen. His supporters wanted blood, so he gave them what they craved. By the play’s end, Lemont had
joined the play and viscerally murdered every member of the cast while the crowd roared their approval. As the show ended, the playhouse broke from
Dementlieu, and Scaena was formed. Comprising a single playhouse, the domain can create any reality Lemont desires upon its stage. The Darklord’s
immersive performances are somewhat predictable, though, as they always end in slaughter.

Sea of Sorrows

Darklord: Pietra van Riese
Hallmarks: Island domains, nautical horror
The murderous pirate Pietra van Riese, captain of the Relentless, had an unsavory reputation for attaching her captives to ropes and dragging them
through the water until they drowned. She never removed the detritus of her victims, even though some returned to life as zombies. The Relentless was
ultimately sunk by rival captains, but death couldn’t keep Pietra. She awoke in the Sea of Sorrows, water in her lungs and sea creatures making their
homes in her esh. Her crew stirred with her, now sh-eaten corpses. When Pietra sought to speak with them, her voice emerged from their mouths.
The Relentless sails a domain that can overlap any body of water in any other domain. Some domains border the Sea of Sorrows, while others have their
own names for these mysterious waters. Those who venture into the Mists by boat might nd themselves amid an endless, debris- and sargassum-
choked expanse of eerie beasts and shifting islands, including the following:
Blaustein. This island-fortress domain was once ruled by the notorious Bluebeard, but his spectral wives overthrew him and now endlessly torment him.

PIETRA VAN RIESE
Dominia. The asylum of the vampire Dr. Daclaud Heinfroth rises upon this stormy island. The asylum’s patients are all dramatically different versions of
Heinfroth inspired by who he was at various points during his lengthy life.
Isle of the Ravens. A storm of ravens surrounds this forested islet. Hidden amid the feathered gale, an impossibly tall tower stretches into the sky. This is
the home of the Lady of Ravens, and any who offend her join her ebon-winged ock.
The Lighthouse. Otherworldly light shines from atop this twisted spur of bizarre fossils. Anyone who enters nds that the light doesn’t call out to the sea,
but down to what lurks in the pit hidden within.
Vigilant’s Bluff. An undead paladin holds vigil atop this drowned island. Weary travelers can nd refuge here if they’re respectful of the paladin’s faith. The
bones of those who were not litter the surrounding coral.

The Shadowlands

Darklord: Ebonbane
Hallmarks: Falls from grace, heroic sacri ce
Within this forested land of peasants and heroes dwells an order of questing knights known as the Circle. These knights seek to vanquish evil, following
the example of their founder, the paladin Kateri Shadowborn. Even long generations after Kateri’s death, members of the Shadowborn family still number
among the Circle, their heroics known across the Shadowlands and in other domains. Yet despite their victories, the foes and failures of these knights are
ever drawn back to the Shadowlands, lling it with vengeful souls and monsters. These include villains such as the necromancer Morgoroth; the fallen
paladin Elena Faith-hold; and Ebonbane, Kateri Shadowborn’s accursed sword.

Souragne

Darklord: Anton Misroi

Hallmarks: Imprisonment, swamp magic

In society, Anton Misroi presented himself as an upstanding gentleman. But within the walls of the prison over which he was warden, he was a sadist who
believed righteousness was on his side. When his torturous punishments nally drove the prison’s inmates to rise up, the bloody riot that ensued drew the
attentions of the Dark Powers. During the uprising, Misroi was drowned in the swamps surrounding the prison. But he rose again soon after, an undead
warden in search of inmates.

Beyond Misroi’s prison, alligator- lled swamps cover the domain of Souragne right up to the sinking settlement of Port d’Elhour and Marais d’Tarascon, a
village where above-ground crypts outnumber the residences of the living.

Staunton Bluffs

Darklord: Teresa Bleysmith

Hallmarks: Endless warfare, repeating history

Eerily faceless mercenary regiments sweep the countryside of Staunton Bluffs. Burning villages and killing helpless residents, they push ever eastward
toward Castle Stonecrest, hereditary home of the Bleysmith family. Teresa Bleysmith, spurred by jealousy of her brother, Torrence, gave her family’s foes
the intelligence they needed to raid Staunton Bluffs. The attack was never supposed to go so far, but the duplicitous mercenaries stormed through the
countryside to take Castle Stonecrest within a day. Teresa survived the attack, but when she surveyed the damage done and found her family dead by her
own designs, she threw herself from the bluffs. Now she haunts her own domain, where she repeatedly relives the day of her betrayal.

Tovag

Darklord: Kas the Bloody Handed

Hallmarks: Undead military dictatorship

Notorious across the planes, the vampire Kas was once the champion of the lich Vecna. Wielding the artifact that bears his name, he betrayed his master,
and the resulting battle supposedly destroyed them both. In truth, Vecna escaped and grew in power over ages and across worlds. Kas, though, was
claimed by the Mists, and in his wasteland domain of Tovag, he believes his war with Vecna rages on. Patrols of prisoner-soldiers under undead
commanders scour the land, dragooning strangers to serve in Kas’s armies and to manufacture bizarre war machines. When Kas deems the time right, he
sends his forces into the Mists, believing that Vecna’s realm lies just beyond. Invariably, those troops never return, leaving the vampire to rage, rebuild his
forces, and continue his search for the Sword of Kas (detailed in the Dungeon Master’s Guide), which he considers his key to victory.

Vhage Agency

Darklord: Flimira Vhage

Hallmarks: Detective work, memory loss

Everything inside the o ce of the Vhage Agency appears as a monotone gray. Anyone who passes the frosted glass door that leads into this single-room
domain is expected by Flimira “Flintlock” Vhage, the detective agency’s owner. From this hub for occult detective adventures (see chapter 2), Vhage
collects mysterious correspondence relating to mysteries all across the Domains of Dread. She enlists agents to investigate these cases, and then report
back to her. However, she never reveals her own past as a detective turned criminal, her involvement in every case her agency investigates, or that the
Vhage Agency exists entirely within her mind.

Zherisia

Darklord: Sodo

Hallmarks: Serial murderers, urban decay

Each day, the city of Paridon in Zherisia erupts in riots over food scarcity, taxation, and citizens who go missing by the dozens every night. At least one
murderer stalks Paridon: the ancient doppelganger Sodo, who has impersonated so many people that it now nds it impossible to hold a form for more
than a few days at a time. As Sodo’s esh runs like hot wax, it staves off dissolution by consuming the organs of humanoids. Paridon’s streets serve as
the doppelganger’s hunting ground, and those who enter the sewers risk attracting the notice of countless carrion stalkers (see chapter 5) and their
monstrous Hive Queen.

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OTHER DOMAINS OF DREAD HORROR ADVENTURES

Travelers in the Mists

Adventures in the Domains of Dread often indulge in a single domain’s distinctly frightful themes. But if you plan to run whole campaigns set in the Land
of the Mists, creating narratives that span domains can prove challenging if every realm is a world unto itself. Individuals who willfully brave the Mists to
travel between domains are especially useful in your broader horror stories.

While it’s true that most residents of the Domains of Dread never leave their home domains and wisely don’t xate on what lies beyond the Mists, some
daring souls do. Many such inquisitive individuals simply vanish, the Mists delivering them to deadly domains from which they never return. But others
manage to band together, learning the ways of the Mists, how to travel through them, and how to survive their dangers. Those who travel between
domains might have the Mist Walker Dark Gift (see chapter 1) or know how to employ Mist talismans (detailed at the start of this chapter). Such travelers
can provide the following services adventurers might nd useful:

Evidence of other domains
News, rumors, and requests for help
Information on Mist talismans
Guidance or traveling companions

The characters in your adventures should feel special if they travel the Mists, as few have the courage to do so. When characters encounter travelers from
other domains, those individuals should likewise be remarkable or have a desperate reason to have braved the Mists. Learning about such wanderers can
drive the characters from a single adventure into a larger campaign that explores other domains.

The following sections present groups and individuals who routinely travel the Mists. The Strangers in the Mists table also suggests the kinds of people
characters might encounter amid the Mists.

Strangers in the Mists

d6 Encounter

1 Someone from another world who’s just been drawn into a domain by the Mists
2 Someone eeing the Darklord of another domain
3 A raven carrying a message from the Keepers of the Feather
4 Curious members of the Keepers of the Feather led by a wereraven (see chapter 5) in disguise
5 A band of Vistani
6 A spirit that cries out before being yanked back into the Mists, leaving behind a Mist talisman

Keepers of the Feather

When asked about the origins of their society, the members of the Keepers of the Feather speak of their traditions originating long ago and beyond the
Mists. This is true, but most who repeat that story are only trying to layer a mystical facade over their dilettante spiritualism.
Only the group’s highest-ranking members know that the Keepers of the Feather began in Barovia as a small sect of wereravens (see chapter 5) dedicated
to opposing the evils of Strahd von Zarovich. Though their numbers were not enough to oppose the Darklord directly, they sought useful lore and aided
brave souls from the shadows, manipulating fortune to confound some of Strahd’s more diabolical plots. Over generations, the wereravens’ hidden

resistance to Strahd continued in Barovia, but some among them learned of other lands suffering beyond the Mists. Unwilling to let the innocents of those
lands fend for themselves, some of the Keepers of the Feather ventured forth, hoping to share their wisdom and their subtle resistance to evil with those
who needed it most.
However, the Mists nd a way to twist even the best of intentions. In the cities of urbane domains like Borca, Darkon, and Dementlieu, the mystical writings
and talismans the wereravens carried from Barovia came to the attention of the bored elite. Fascinated, these socialites became obsessed with the occult,
seeking out esoteric works, hiring doubtful fortune-tellers, and hosting parlor séances. In most cases, the results were passing fads. In some, they were
catastrophic—the unprepared successfully summoned ends and angry spirits into their salons. But a few earnest amateur spiritualists genuinely sought
to learn more about the secrets beyond their homes, their lives, and the Mists. In these would-be occultists, the wereravens saw potential.

Keeper Societies

HOLY SYMBOL OF RAVENKIND
Beyond Barovia, where the eldest wereraven members of the Keepers of the Feather keep a low pro le, Keepers organize into small social clubs with
shared interests in occultism. Some members are actual invested scholars, while others are simply bored rich folk. But all have a strong interest in
séances, fortune-telling, secrets of the afterlife, sightings of mysterious creatures, metaphysical theories, and tales of the macabre. Among their
misinterpretations and outright im am—like round planet theory and dikesha dice—Keepers also possess hints of truth and the tools wereravens have
long used to combat evil. Among these are spirit boards (detailed in chapter 4), tarokka decks, Mist talismans, and piecemeal occult writings from various
domains. Some among the Keepers don’t know the true power of these tools, but this doesn’t dull their enthusiasm.

Knowing the threats that Darklords and other evils pose, wereravens of the Keepers typically don’t reveal themselves to those not of their kind. Rather, they
in ltrate Keeper societies as reclusive members, traveling experts, or foreign scholars. Some Keepers also tell of sightings or visitations involving giant
raven-like beings that appear, speak some prophecy or deliver some message, then vanish, often presaging either wonder or disaster. The wereravens take
little issue with these exaggerated tales from those who’ve witnessed their hybrid forms, and they willingly play into the tales of the Keepers if it means
spurring them to action.
The Keepers of the Feather are a loose organization, incorporating members who operate alone or in small groups, as well as elite social clubs or
secretive societies. In all cases, Keepers identify each other by the Mark of the Raven, a sunburst emblem worn as a pin or amulet. Drawn from esoteric
writings, this mark is a recreation of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, a storied religious artifact from Barovia. Though these reproductions carry no magical
properties and most non-wereraven Keepers don’t know the symbol’s origin, many foul forces instinctively recognize the symbol as an emblem of good.

Keeper Rookeries

Keeper cells strive to correspond and share discoveries between communities and domains. To facilitate this, the wereravens have taught some Keepers
how to raise messenger ravens capable of delivering letters through the Mists. Most non-Keepers who learn of this consider it a trick, or fear what it
means to receive messages from beyond the Mists, encouraging the Keepers to offer this rare service only to group members and their allies. Keeper
ravens as a means of correspondence is detailed in “Life in the Domains of Dread” earlier in this chapter.

Keeper Adventures
The Keeper Adventures table offers ideas for strange events that can touch off stories involving the Keepers of the Feather.

Keeper Adventures

d6 Adventure Hook

1 Keepers invite the characters to a social gathering where fortunes are told and attendees sample rare imported mumia—powdered mummy.

2 A Keeper delivers a letter to the characters that arrived by raven. The message has no sender.

3 Orphir Brindletop, a Kalakeri gnome occultist, is surprised to meet one of the characters, as he received a message for them in a séance long ago.

4 The characters are invited to help a Keeper stake out a graveyard in hopes of spotting a legendary creature said to dwell there.

The party is hired to collect a parcel from the Blue Water Inn in the Barovian town of Vallaki, which is secretly run by wereravens. They must not open
5

the package and must get it out of Barovia swiftly.

6 A character glimpses a raven-like gure. When they investigate, they nd only the mysterious talisman that it left behind.

Vistani

Known throughout the Land of the Mists, Vistani (singular: Vistana) are a people with a unique understanding of the Domains of Dread and the hidden
paths between them. Following itinerant traditions, many Vistani travel between domains, learning much of hidden lands, the many faces of evil, and the
strange wonders of the Mists. A people unto themselves, Vistani refuse to be captives of a single domain, the Mists, or any terror.

Vistani Culture
Unlike the denizens of individual domains, Vistani are inhabitants of the Land of the Mist as a whole. Although they trace their origins to the same world
as Barovia, many Vistani look toward the future, learning from their traditions and from one another to better face whatever lies ahead.
Vistani bands consist primarily of one or more extended human families who can trace their heritage back to age-old Vistani clans. Over generations of
exploring the Mists, though, individuals of other ancestries have been accepted into some clans and now are full- edged members of Vistani culture (see
the “Vistani Characters” sidebar for details).
As they travel, members of a Vistani band walk, ride on horseback, and drive ledge wagons, stopping at night to set up camp. Vistani bands occasionally
camp near welcoming communities to trade and resupply, but rarely stay more than a week—though this can be complicated if a Darklord closes a

domain’s borders. Most bands make their living primarily through craftwork (especially delicate silversmithing), horse rearing, and trading wares carried
between domains.
Meetings between Vistani bands are opportunities to trade, catch up with friends, and share both news and warnings of dangers ahead or behind.
Vistani Magic and the Mists
Vistani pass their varied teachings through their families as stories and songs, detailing lessons learned from generations of travelers, warnings speci c
to visited domains, and traditional magic. Spellcasters aren’t uncommon among Vistani bands, with many favoring divination magic for the practical help
it provides in avoiding danger. Spellcasters often incorporate their people’s traditional divination tools into their spellcasting, including the fortune-telling
cards called tarokka decks.
With their experience navigating the Mists, many Vistani understand how to employ Mist talismans (detailed at the start of this chapter) to reach speci c
domains, or possess the Mist Walker Dark Gift (see chapter 1), allowing them to make their way between domains. Vistani don’t enter the Mists lightly,
though, knowing that each such passage holds inherent danger. Caravan leaders ensure that every family member is accounted for before moving on,
ensuring no one gets lost in the Mists.

VISTANI WAYFARERS EMERGE FROM THE MISTS INTO A NEW LAND.

Vistani Knowledge
Vistani travelers have a holistic perspective on the Domains of Dread and know the following secrets:

The Mists are more than weather and are manipulated by forces that seem ckle and often cruel.
The Mists can carry travelers between lands and can be coerced but never controlled.
Evil is real and embodied by individuals of terrible power.
Time, reality, and memory don’t always move in reliable ways, particularly between domains.
One might glimpse their fortune, but such things endlessly shift. Every soul makes their own fate.
Views of Vistani
Their travels across domains bring many Vistani into contact with a wide range of people. As the only outsiders that some remote communities see in the
course of a year, the news and goods Vistani bring ensures a genuine welcome and renewal of longstanding trade relationships. Some more dismal
communities view Vistani with suspicion, though, being wary of anyone who emerges from the Mists. But even these communities often nd the lure of
news and trade too tempting to forgo entirely.
Most people who live among the Domains of Dread know the following things about Vistani:

They don’t fear the Mists and can travel safely through the Mists to other lands.
They carry goods and stories from far-off lands.
They’re protective of their families, which includes members of other caravans.
Most don’t discuss their culture or beliefs with outsiders.
Their travel routes are unpredictable, and a community might go years without seeing a Vistani caravan.

Traveling with Vistani
Members of Vistani bands understand the disorienting, dangerous nature of the Mists better than anyone. Vistani caravans sometimes take pity on those
who ask them for help, especially strangers from unfamiliar lands hopelessly searching for home, allowing such wayfarers to travel with them as far as
the next settlement. In rare cases, a clan might even adopt a gracious, helpful traveler.
Characters who befriend or do right by members of a Vistani band might be allowed to take shelter or travel with a caravan for a time. But Vistani travelers
quickly share tales of danger and of those who’ve wronged them with other caravans, and those who slight one Vistana often meet others who share a
grudge against them.

Famed Vistani
Some Vistani are legends among their people, and their bands might be encountered anywhere. The individuals noted here number among the most
famous Vistani band leaders:
Hyskosa. A renowned poet and storyteller, Hyskosa leads a caravan that embraces the Mists and goes where they lead it. As a result, his clan is
unmoored from time and reality, appearing in different ages, in strange versions and con gurations of domains, and even on worlds beyond the Domains
of Dread. His lyrical accounts of his travels are often viewed as prophecies.
Madame Eva. A controversial gure among Vistani, Madame Eva made a bargain with the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich. As a result, the evils that
lurk in Barovia avoid Vistani. However, Madame Eva and her followers occasionally ally with the infamous count, giving them a sinister reputation.
Madame Eva and her unique band of Vistani are detailed in the adventure Curse of Strahd.
Mother Luba. The hal ing Mother Luba is known for putting unquiet spirits to rest and transporting wayward souls through the Mists to their rightful
homes. Those wicked spirits beyond her aid she trapped within her tarokka deck, which became known as Luba’s Tarokka of Souls (detailed in Tasha’s
Cauldron of Everything).

Other Groups

Representatives of various organizations have their own reasons for exploring the Mists and might be encountered in multiple domains.
Church of Ezra
Pious souls in various domains pray to Ezra, an aloof god who embodies the Mists (as detailed at the start of this chapter). With no domain-spanning
organization, the church serves largely as a formalization of local superstitions, whether in modest rural temples or urban cathedrals. When many
common folk give voice to their hopes or seek to ward off evil, it’s to Ezra they pray.

The Circle
The heroic knights of this order quest from the Shadowlands (detailed in “Other Domains of Dread”) in search of evil to vanquish. Bold and proud, many
members of the Circle inadvertently race toward dramatic tragedies. The more successful knights venture back to the Shadowlands with evidence of their
victories, often carrying evil back to their homeland. The knights of the Circle regularly provide bold—and ill-fated—assistance to other would-be heroes.

The Kargat and the Kargatane
Darkon’s secret police, the Kargat, is composed of vampires and others supernaturally disposed toward intrigue. Since Azalin’s disappearance (see
“Darkon” earlier in this chapter), the Kargat enforces the will of fractious, power-hungry leaders. The organization is in turn served by the Kargatane, a
cultish lower echelon of mortals drawn to service with promises of wealth and supernatural power. Long-serving members of the Kargatane earn
transformation into dhampirs (see chapter 1), the rst step toward becoming a member of the Kargat and attaining immortality. Agents of both groups
wander Darkon and beyond, creating shadowy conspiracies to gain magical power and control by any means possible.

Order of the Guardians
This network of scholars and monastic caretakers hunts down and puts an end to dangerous supernatural objects, cursed items, and stranger anomalies.
In the case of dangers they can’t destroy, the Guardians hope to prevent calamities by containing them within hidden, heavily warded, vault-like
monasteries. Over generations, these sites have become repositories of incredible secrets and great evil that members of the order struggle to contain.
Guardian monasteries are hidden in multiple domains, with the best known being Watchers’ Stronghold in Darkon. Power-hungry groups and unscrupulous
lore seekers, such as the Kargat and the priests of Osybus, often target these ancient vaults, seeking powers few can hope to control. The Guardians
might share goals with characters trying to prevent supernatural dangers, but they just as easily could consider characters threats themselves.

Priests of Osybus
These cultists channel the might of the Dark Powers and steal souls to gain the ability to transcend death. With their foul immortality, they work to
unshackle the rst Darklord, Strahd von Zarovich, from the Domains of Dread. This inspires them to learn all they can about the nature of the Mists and its
deepest mysteries. The priests spread their teachings, forming shadowy cults that draw adventurers into their schemes. These villains are further detailed
in chapter 5.

Ulmist Inquisition
The three branches of the Ulmist Inquisition trace their origins to Malitain, a mysterious, cult-infested city from the same world as Barovia. These
inquisitors employ varied psionic powers to stamp out evil, but their zeal and willingness to peer into others’ minds mean that many fear them just as
much as the villains they oppose. Cells of the Ulmist Inquisition might be found within any domain and often ally with the Church of Ezra while opposing
the priests of Osybus. Ulmist inquisitors might ally with characters against evil, but they are just as likely to see corruption within adventurers’ souls.
These inquisitors are further detailed in chapter 5.

Mist Wanderers

The individuals in this section travel the Mists, carrying with them rumors and mysteries that can lead characters from one domain to the next. Any of
these travelers might use Mist talismans or other methods to aid characters in undertaking their own journeys.

Alanik Ray and Arthur Sedgwick

Known as the Great Detective, Alanik Ray possesses an unrivaled deductive mind. The century-old elf has a knack for seeing through falsehoods, a talent
aided by decades of experience and science-driven deductive methods.

As a young detective in Darkon, Alanik revealed his father’s criminal empire and oversaw its destruction. His success launched his career as a private
detective, embroiling him in the intrigues of Martira Bay’s nobility. During this time, he met the young physician Arthur Sedgwick, who became his partner
and saved Alanik’s life countless times. The pair’s adventures—including several deadly encounters with the Kargat—eventually led them to relocate to
Port-a-Lucine in Dementlieu. A mystery involving a shape-shifting serial killer resulted in a fall from a roof that paralyzed Alanik’s legs. Within the following
month, the pair created a custom wheelchair for Alanik, and they married.

Today, Alanik Ray and Arthur Sedgwick investigate mysteries wherever need and novelty take them. Arthur lends his practicality and martial skill to
Alanik’s dazzling intellect during the pair’s exploits. Sedgwick also chronicles their adventures and has published two volumes to date: The Life of Alanik
Ray and The Casebook of Alanik Ray.

Alanik Ray’s Traits
Ideal. “Logic is a guide but also an illusion. Order and reason don’t supersede what is right.”

Bond. “I have the perspective to see depravities others can’t. I use my insight to reveal wickedness and make the world a better place.”

Flaw. “Most people are dangerous, manipulative liars and not to be trusted.”

Arthur Sedgwick’s Traits
Ideal. “The sicknesses of the world are vast, but I can help others nd the medicine they need.”

Bond. “I can’t withhold care, no matter how ill a soul might be.”

Flaw. “I focus so much on others that I often don’t see what’s a icting me.”

Adventures with Alanik and Arthur
Alanik Ray is an exceptional investigator with an uncanny ability to notice detail and make deductive leaps. Despite his experience with the paranormal, he
relies on his husband Arthur to keep him out of true supernatural peril. Still, the detectives manage to nd trouble wherever they go. Use the statistics of
spies to approximate both Alanik Ray and Arthur Sedgwick. Consider the following plots when featuring the detectives in your adventures:

Alanik is confounded by a murderer preying on a family. Arthur discovers that these murders repeat in a centuries-long cycle and seeks detectives
with greater supernatural experience.
Alanik exposes a community’s constabulary, whose members accuse individuals of crimes before the offenses occur. He seeks help in dismantling
the dangerous system.
A serial killer called the Midnight Slasher leaves behind gory messages such as, “I live in your city” and “I lurk in your nightmares.” When the
characters meet Alanik, he reveals that these messages appear at crime scenes in multiple communities, on the same nights.

The Caller

Folktales of the Caller carry a cold, cruel authenticity, hinting of a vicious mythos too speci c to be ction. The Caller numbers among the most notorious
supernatural gures in the Land of the Mists, and where it walks, doom inevitably follows.

The Caller appears as a comely individual of any gender, which takes disarming forms to gain the trust of a speci c individual. Whether as a friend,
paramour, mentor, or rival, the Caller isolates its target, leading the victim to depend on it emotionally or materially. Over time, the Caller coerces or
outright forces its victim to acts of deepening sel shness and immorality. Then when the target reaches a peak of depravity or despair, the Caller
abandons its mark, leaving them to face the consequences. The suffering the Caller causes is never isolated, triggering a tragic chain of events that can
throw a family, a community, or a whole domain into anguish. Those investigating the history of a calamity might discover generations-spanning cycles of
the Caller’s manipulations. These schemes shape a mysterious agenda—one gradually molding the Land of the Mists to a nefarious purpose.

The Caller’s Traits
The Caller’s true agendas and disposition are unknowable to mortals. As the ultimate mimic, it can change its personality to re ect whatever most
appeals to its current victim.

Adventures with the Caller
The Caller uses statistics similar to a succubus/incubus, and no matter how many times it’s defeated, it always returns. Use the Caller to create
adventures involving secret histories, domain-spanning conspiracies, and truths hinting at the nature of the Dark Powers. Consider the following plots
when featuring the Caller in an adventure:

One of the characters’ allies requests they check in on the ally’s brother. This pious or artistic soul has been convinced by a charming peer (the Caller
in disguise) to attend a retreat that is secretly a meeting of the priests of Osybus.
An old friend reappears in a character’s life. Likable and knowledgeable but shy, this friend assists the character without recompense. Eventually, the
friend (actually the Caller) gets into trouble and needs the character to do them a number of increasingly unscrupulous favors.
A powerful individual such as Firan Zal’honan (see below), Isolde (see “The Carnival” earlier in this chapter), or a domain’s Darklord summons the
party and requests they hunt down the Caller. This gure provides their agents with a device that allows the bearers to travel to whatever domain the
Caller is currently in.

Erasmus van Richten

Kidnapped by criminals, transformed into a vampire, slain by his father: Erasmus van Richten’s teenage years haven’t been pleasant. They haven’t been
entirely terrible, either.

The ghostly son of Ingrid and Rudolph van Richten (detailed later in this section) follows his father, trying to aid him and ever wishing he could let his
father know he’s okay. But the interaction of Rudolph’s curse and Erasmus’s unique nature prevents the elder van Richten from perceiving his son’s ghostly
existence. Erasmus could have become a sorrowful bystander, but his unfaltering empathy and the circle of kind souls in van Richten’s orbit have kept him
engaged over the years.

Erasmus is a unique spirit. His behavior and rare appearances mark him as a thoughtful, art-loving teenager. He can’t express himself as fully as he’d like,
since he can appear for only a few minutes every day and can’t speak. However, he can manipulate ectoplasm to paint colorful, oating symbols and
images. When possible, he depicts information and conveys emotions or warnings. Erasmus’s art is eeting, though, vanishing in seconds. Sadly, his
father cannot perceive him or any manifestation he creates.

While traveling with his father, Erasmus bonds with Rudolph’s allies. Aromantic yet deeply affectionate, Erasmus delights in frequenting the rooms of
those he cares about, leaving behind colorful greetings. He never pushes others to reveal his presence, though, since attempts to do so only cause
Rudolph pain.

Erasmus van Richten’s Traits
Ideal. “I’ve been given a second chance, and I’ll make sure it has a purpose.”

Bond. “I lost my family, but I can embrace a new one. Anyone who needs me and means well is welcome.”

Flaw. “I’ve been the source of so much trouble. I never want to be a bother.”

Adventures with Erasmus van Richten
Erasmus is a ghost and the heart of the van Richten family. Consider the following plots when featuring Erasmus in an adventure:

Erasmus understands the unquiet dead. Through devices such as tarokka decks and spirit boards, he reveals the histories and intentions of spirits.
An overzealous priest detects the undead presence hovering near Rudolph van Richten and threatens Rudolph, Erasmus, or both.
A powerful spirit, such as Lord Godefroy of Mordent, kidnaps Erasmus to manipulate his father.

Ez d’Avenir

Born Ezmerelda Radanavich but preferring the name Ez, this young wanderer rst encountered monsters among her manipulative family, who posed as
Vistani to prey upon travelers. Eventually, they kidnapped Erasmus van Richten and sold him to his death at the hands of the vampire Baron Metus. In the
brief time she knew him, Ez befriended Erasmus and heard him speak lovingly of a different sort of family than the one she knew. When Erasmus’s father,
Rudolph van Richten, tracked her family down and delivered her mother to justice, Ez didn’t stop him.

In the years that followed, Ez joined a Vistani band, adopted the name Ez d’Avenir, and traveled far but never found the belonging Erasmus described.
Eventually she sought out someone she knew could tell her more: Rudolph van Richten. After a wary introduction, Ez met van Richten and studied with him
for a time, learning all she could of hunting deadly creatures. Although her and Rudolph’s personalities clashed, Ez was surprised to reconnect with
Erasmus, now a ghost. She and the spirit renewed their friendship and ultimately discovered paths beyond Rudolph van Richten’s obsession. Rather than
let her relationship with the doctor turn sour, Ez departed Mordentshire to hunt evil and nd a family on her own terms.

Since then, Ez has changed much, learning the ways of the Mists and replacing her leg with a splendid prosthetic after a werewolf attack. She hopes that
her explorations and her old mentor’s wisdom eventually allow her to create a place that feels safe enough to call home.

Ez d’Avenir’s Traits
Ideal. “Evil that feeds on the innocent is the worst of all evils and must be destroyed.”

Bond. “I’ve known little of family, but I hold those I care for close, and one day I’ll consider them a family of my own.”

Flaw. “I go where angels fear to tread.”

Adventures with Ez d’Avenir

Use the statistics of an assassin to represent Ez, or you can use her stat block from Curse of Strahd. Consider the following plots when featuring Ez in an
adventure:

Ez discovers an incarnation of the tragic soul Tatyana (detailed in the “Barovia” domain). While investigating ways to keep her safe, she accidentally
alerts Strahd’s agents to her existence.
From a cell in Il Aluk, Ez’s mother Irena Radanavich manipulates a web of lies to bring her daughter back into the family.

Firan Zal’honan

FIRAN ZAL’HONAN’S MYSTERIOUS RESEARCH
LEADS HIM TO DISCOVER AN ACCURSED
AMBER SARCOPHAGUS

A mask of charm and congeniality conceals one of the most ingenious and utterly ruthless intellects to stalk through the Mists. A wandering scholar, Firan
Zal’honan is quick to claim his descent from a noble pedigree. In another life, he claims, he could have ruled as a wizard-king. But his brilliance led him
along a stranger path: seeking to escape the Mists into the “true realities” beyond. Firan keeps the basis for his strange theories secret, but his ambitions
drive him to travel the domains; visit accursed sites; and investigate inscrutable prophecy cycles, temporal conjunctions, and an unknown gure he calls
“the escapee.”
For all his arrogance, Firan dreads the Mists and seeks assistance traversing them. His most noteworthy partner is the Vistani leader Madame Eva, who
secretly allows him to barter strange secrets for her agents’ guidance through the Mists.

Firan is an enigmatic and abrasive expert, but his knowledge of the domains and their secrets is without peer. His research causes him to regularly cross
paths with other sinister scholars, such as the priests of Osybus, a group he’s equally likely to aid or oppose as his investigations demand. Firan’s
eccentricities include loathing the domain of Darkon, an almost-personal hatred for Barovia’s Count Strahd von Zarovich, and his earnest fear of the Mists
—he claims that if he entered them unguided, he would never escape. However, those who prove useful to him can earn a valuable temporary ally.

Firan Zal’honan’s Traits
Ideal. “Secrets are power. No foe can hide their mysteries from me.”

Bond. “None of this is real. I will endure this test. I will reap my reward. I will have my revenge.”

Flaw. “My genius is immortal and has been tested like no other.”

Adventures with Firan Zal’honan
Firan Zal’honan is an arrogant, pragmatic, amoral genius. Furthering his schemes or adopting him as a patron can draw a party into con ict with the most
prominent villains in the Domains of Dread. Use the statistics of a human archmage to represent Firan. He is accompanied by an imp named Skeever, who
appears as a piebald raven. Consider the following plots when featuring Firan in an adventure:

The characters happen upon Firan, who claims to be waiting for them. He offers insight into rare magic or their ongoing quests if they’ll assist him in
investigating an infamous ruin nearby.
A thief stole Firan’s prized amulet—a chain bearing a tiny gold dragon skull. Uncharacteristically agitated, he offers the characters any knowledge he
possesses if they retrieve the amulet swiftly.

Jander Sunstar

Born on the world of Toril, the high elf Jander Sunstar was an adventurer tragically transformed into a vampire. After defeating his master, he wandered
far, struggling against his vampiric urges and eventually falling in love with an adventurer named Anna, who claimed to be from another world. When
Jander revealed his true nature, Anna’s companions assisted her in eeing him. In a rage, Jander slew all those he blamed for keeping him and Anna
apart. In the aftermath of the slaughter, the Mists gathered around Jander, transporting him to Barovia. There, Jander met Strahd von Zarovich and lived in
Castle Ravenloft for a time. When the elder vampire sought to make Jander his servant, Jander tried to slay the count, failed, and ed into the Mists.

In the centuries that followed, Jander wandered as a mysterious adventurer, secretly seeking a cure for vampirism. He’s discovered multiple remedies, but
none work for him. In recent decades, his attempt to save a fellow adventurer resulted in the birth of Savra Sunstar, a dhampir (see chapter 1) who Jander
considers his daughter. Savra loathes him, though, and has devoted her life to hunting him and all vampires.

This estrangement pushed Jander to seek more radical methods of expunging his vampirism. Assisting in the experiments of a mysterious alchemist in
Mordent, he became the rst to test a prototype of the enigmatic Apparatus (see “Mordent” earlier in the chapter). But the machine malfunctioned; instead
of purging his vampirism, it created myriad copies of him, scattered across the planes. All believe they’re the real Jander, though an improbable number of
them have already achieved semi-tragic ends. At least one Jander remains trapped in Ravenloft, forever seeking a peace he’ll never deserve.

Jander Sunstar’s Traits
Ideal. “Vampirism is a curse that must be eradicated—from myself most of all.”

Bond. “I will suffer nobly, enduring my curse so I can bring about an end to history’s greatest scourge.”

Flaw. “My insights and pain carry more weight than those of younger, more naive beings.”

Adventures with Jander Sunstar
Jander Sunstar is a vampire and one of Ravenloft’s foremost experts on vampirism. He aids characters hunting vampires and recruits allies to protect him
from others of his kind. Consider the following plots when featuring Jander Sunstar in an adventure:

Jander needs assistance in destroying another vampire: one of his duplicates.
Jander asks the characters to help him save a monster hunter who opposes an overly powerful foe. Within the villain’s lair, the characters discover the
hunter is Jander’s daughter, Savra, who neither requests nor requires aid.

Larissa Snowmane

Captain Larissa Snowmane pilots the paddleboat River Dancer along the rivers and coasts of Ravenloft’s domains, righting wrongs and ferrying those in
need to new homes. Larissa is a legend, known for her icy-white hair, dancing skill, and mezzo-soprano signing voice. As she approaches her seventieth
year, she remains one of the domains’ most widely traveled explorers. When danger threatens her vessel and crew, Captain Snowmane reluctantly uses a
magical performance known as the Dance of the Dead, a forbidden song and dance that keeps Undead creatures at bay but slays living beings who
witness it, then reanimates them as zombies. Larissa avoids rival riverboat captain Nathan Timothy and his ship, Virago, as well as the swampy domain of
Souragne, where she learned her deadly magic from grim forces that consider her debt unpaid.

Larissa Snowmane’s Traits
Ideal. “Everyone needs help from time to time. I’ll help those who have no one else.”

Bond. “My ship, my crew, and those in my care are my home, and I’ll risk my life to protect them.”

Flaw. “I’ve seen terrors but have risen above them. I can triumph over any evil—except my past.”

Adventures with Larissa Snowmane
Larissa Snowmane is a human druid with exceptional insight into navigating the waterways of the Mists. Her handsome, multilevel paddleboat River
Dancer provides an exciting base of operations for wayfaring adventurers. Consider the following plots when featuring Larissa Snowmane in an
adventure:

River Dancer appears when the characters desperately need to escape a domain, but the Mists make their next stop even more dangerous.
River Dancer pulls into port with only Captain Snowmane aboard. Larissa needs a crew, but she doesn’t mention that her last crew died when she used
the Dance of the Dead.

Rudolph van Richten

A scholar and monster hunter, Rudolph van Richten has traveled to dozens of domains, investigating reports of monstrous beings and documenting them
in a series of published guides, the best known of which is Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires.

In fairer days, Rudolph lived with his wife, Ingrid, and son, Erasmus, in their family home outside Rivalis in the domain of Darkon. Brash and recently
established as a medical doctor, Rudolph ran afoul of the Radanaviches, a family using Vistani traditions as a cover for brigandage. When the doctor
refused to treat one of the family’s mortally ill members, the group’s leader, Irena Radanavich, ordered her band to kidnap Rudolph’s son and then sold the
young man to the vampire Baron Metus. Rudolph pursued the Radanaviches, shattered their criminal operation, and brought Irena to justice, but not before
suffering her curse: “Live you always among monsters, and see everyone you love die beneath their claws.” In the weeks that followed, the curse took hold.
Before Rudolph could track down and slay Baron Metus, the vampire murdered both Ingrid and Erasmus.

In the decades since, van Richten has hunted monsters and armed others with the knowledge they need to confront the dark. Though he’s made many
devoted allies, he keeps them at arm’s length, fearing the threat of his curse. When not traveling, van Richten lives out of his herbalist’s shop in
Mordentshire in the domain of Mordent.

Rudolph van Richten’s Traits
Ideal. “Evil cannot go unpunished.”

Bond. “To protect those I love, I must keep them at a distance and hidden from my enemies.”

Flaw. “I am cursed. I will never nd peace.”

Adventures with Rudolph van Richten
Van Richten readily provides mentorship to characters devoted to ghting the creatures of the night. To represent him, use the stat block for a priest from
the Monster Manual or Rictavio from Curse of Strahd. Consider the following plots when featuring van Richten in an adventure:

Long ago, van Richten slew a supernatural villain who terrorized a community, but now that evil has returned. The party must seek out the doctor,
since only he knows the secret of defeating the creature—hopefully for good this time.
One of van Richten’s foes captures the doctor and uses his name to correspond with adventurers, luring those who would learn his secrets into a
deadly trap.

The Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins

The daughters of the mayor of Mordentshire, Alice Weathermay, twins Gennifer and Laurie grew up as inseparable hellions. Just before their sixteenth
birthday, the twins’ uncle, renowned monster hunter George Weathermay, returned to Mordent with his ancé, Natalia Vhorishkova. The twins realized that
Natalia was manipulating their beloved uncle, eventually exposing her as a werewolf who was using George to pursue one of Mordent’s other famous
residents, Rudolph van Richten. After the twins saved van Richten and their uncle from the werewolf, both George and van Richten encouraged their
investigative instincts, training them as monster hunters.
Ever since, Laurie and Gennifer have been relentless adventurers. Laurie, taking after her uncle, trained in martial techniques to combat the undead. She
rarely travels without her companions Joan and Tirran, the grown pups of her uncle’s foxhounds, and her uncle’s magic sword, Gossamer.
Gennifer, working closely with van Richten, learned the medicine and traditions of numerous domains. She’s conducted in-depth studies of lycanthropy to
assist her and her sister in pursing Natalia Vhorishkova, who remains at large. Secretly, Gennifer fears she’s infected with lycanthropy, and despite never
exhibiting any signs of the curse, she takes medication of her own concoction to ward it off.

Gennifer’s Traits
Ideal. “There’s a solution for everything; I just have to be clever enough to see it.”
Bond. “My family has endured so much, and now I have to hold my own.”
Flaw. “I’ll never be as strong as my relatives, so I’ll have to be smarter.”

Laurie’s Traits
Ideal. “There’s a solution for everything. I just have to take your chance when it arises.”
Bond. “Deeds, not words, will maintain my family’s respected place in society.”
Flaw. “I’ll never be as smart as my relatives, so I’ll have to be stronger.”

Adventures with the Twins
Gennifer and Laurie are skilled and well-prepared adventurers who have the statistics of a druid and a veteran, respectively. Consider the following plots
when featuring the twins in an adventure:

The characters have gotten in over their heads, and the Weathermay-Foxgrove twins—pursuing the same quest—come to the rescue. Afterward, the
sisters encourage the party to participate in a training expedition to an infamous locale.
Gennifer has vanished. Laurie seeks aid, fearing that Natalia Vhorishkova kidnapped her. In truth, Gennifer’s fear of turning into a lycanthrope has led
her to head off on her own—and into greater danger.

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TRAVELERS IN THE MISTS THE HOUSE OF LAMENT

Horror Adventures

Creating your own horror adventures is like crafting any other D&D adventure with one exception: your goal is to horrify your players in the most fun way
possible. Frightening adventures bene t from an atmosphere of dread, conceived through a combination of terrifying narratives, dramatic presentation,
and game elements encouraging fear. Drawing out the anxiety and anticipation of players requires deliberate consideration, though. The tools and
techniques in this chapter provide ways to make sure your game is both spooky and safe in ways right for your speci c group. A toolbox of horror-focused
rules also provides options for what sort of grim adventures you might create. At the end of this chapter, a horror adventure puts these methods to use
and leads characters on their rst steps into the Domains of Dread.

DURING A SÉANCE, A SPIRIT MAKES ITSELF KNOWN TO THE KEEPERS OF THE FEATHER

Preparing for Horror

Before you run a horror game, consider the following steps to ensure the willingness and full engagement of your players. If a group gathers to play a fun,
low-stakes adventure but is immediately thrust into unexpected horror, the game can feel like a trap. You should avoid this. Rather, set expectations with
your players about what a horror-focused game means, and determine what topics and themes will encourage or discourage players’ participation.

Understanding Horror